The Fight for Her is All He's Ever Known
by Idunnowhy
Summary: He loved her. He let her go. It was the story of his life-over and over again. But when Cameron finally leaves for good, House finds out that letting her go might not be as easy as he thought. And the consequences of one hot, late, drunken night might leave them with more together than he ever dreamed.
1. Chapter 1

**Set some time after Cameron and Chase's divorce. Cameron is gone-but her reasons aren't what House thought they were. And when House discovers what she's been hiding, the two of them together might have more than they ever dreamed. House and all of its characters belong to Fox, so there will be no suing my romantic little heart for playing with canon. Just a little. Nope nope nope.**

 **Chapter 1-Wilson**

"James! You made it!" A balding, rotund man in a suit and gray slacks looking very…well, gray…strode across the hospital foyer, hand outstretched. The ready smile that Wilson remembered so well from medical school wrapped ear to ear, and he felt himself automatically returning it as he stretched out his own hand and let himself be pulled in for a hug.

"Andrew. It's good to see you again."

"You too. How the hell have you been?"

"I've been fine," Wilson offered automatically, thinking wryly to himself that it wasn't entirely true. But when you decided to be friends with House, you took what you could get. "How about you? How are Polly and the kids?" Wilson had always liked Andrew's wife, a small, red-haired labor and delivery nurse who had quit working when their youngest was born and now ran the McNamara home with brutal efficiency.

"They're good. Safely tucked at home, away from the likes of you," his friend said wryly, brows waggling as he took a gentle poke at Wilson's legendary love life. "Caitlin's a senior this year."

"No kidding." Wilson grinned, remembered their oldest, a shy, brown eyed girl that had clung to her mother's pant leg when Wilson had visited them…god, had it really been fifteen years ago already? He was suddenly, painfully aware that they were all getting old. "Good for her. Is she heading off to college next year?"

"She's already been accepted into nursing school for next fall." Andrew's face lit up with mirth. "Said she wanted all of the medicine without all the unnecessary phone ringing in the middle of the night."

"Can't say I blame her. Being a doctor is hell on relationships. I should know," said Wilson wryly. "It doesn't seem possible she's that old already."

"I try and block it out as much as I can. It saves me from having a massive complex when I realize I'm turning into one of those bald, gray-haired old men we used to make fun of." Someone jostled him from the side, bumping him back a step, and Andrew suddenly seemed to realize they were standing in the middle of the lobby. "Well, you're not here to stand here listening to me reminisce-although I hope you'll let me buy you a drink tonight so we can do exactly that. The conference is happening down this way."

With a wave of his arm Andrew gestured toward the back of the hospital, where the annual oncology conference would be held. Wilson had thought about skipping it this year-his patient load was heavy, and taking the time off was an inconvenience he couldn't afford-but Andrew was the dean of medicine here and an old friend from med school, and when he'd called Wilson to see if he was coming Wilson hadn't had the heart to tell him no.

Walking down the hallway, admiring the large, open ceilings, Wilson had to admit that the break would be nice. Or rather, it would be nice to get away from House. The man wasn't exactly a picture of sweetness and light on a good day, but in the months since Cameron had left the man had been like a cat with a thorn in its paw. Huddled in a miserable ball in the corner, hissing and scratching at anyone who tried to help.

Eventually, they had given up. Wilson kept trying, because hey-that was what friends did, right? But it felt good to have an excuse to leave the state for a couple of days. Not that it stopped House from blowing up his phone, but at least he could ignore that.

House had just better not be remodeling his office while he was gone. Again.

"Oh hell." Wilson stopped suddenly, smacking his hand to his forehead. "Andrew, I'm sorry. I left my briefcase out in my car." He'd been listening to a voicemail from his ex-wife demanding alimony-again-and had completely forgotten about it. "The conference is back in the lecture hall, right? I remember. I'll run and grab it and meet you down there."

"No problem. I'll walk out with you, if you don't mind the company." Andrew turned around, tucking his hands in his pockets and walking companionably toward the front door. "As long as I'm with you people will assume that I'm busy, which means they won't be stopping to ask me a question every five minutes."

Wilson snorted with laughter. "That's what House says too. Price you pay for being the boss."

"You ought to know, Mr. Head of Oncology. How is House?" The question was casual, but Wilson heard the genuine interest behind it. The two had met several years back. To Wilson's endless amazement, the two had struck up a friendship of sorts. Not the type he had with Wilson, certainly, but the kind where they sent each other snarky jokes by text and grumbled about Days of Our Lives over dinner when Andrew was in town.

"He's…House," Wilson said, as though it said it all. And maybe it did, because Andrew laughed.

"I haven't heard from House since that glowing recommendation he gave Dr. Cameron a couple of months ago. Surprised me-I was thinking maybe he was starting to go soft in his old age."

"I wish. Then maybe we all could...wait…" Wilson stopped walked, turning to look at his friend with huge eyes. "Cameron's _here_?"

"Yeah, didn't you…oh. No, you didn't, did you?" Andrew's cheeks pinked. "I'm sorry, I assumed since House told you everything you already knew. Pretty sure there's a breech in confidentiality there somewhere," he said sheepishly, "so I'd appreciate it if you'd keep this conversation to yourself."

"No problem." Wilson's mind was still stumbling over what he'd just heard. Of all the hospitals in the world, what were the odds that Cameron would end up at this one? "I'm surprised though. How did Cameron end up here?"

"She said yes." Andrew grinned. "House actually suggested her when I mentioned we were looking to hire another emergency attending. Said she'd worked under him for a while, but decided emergency suited her better. I guess she was going through a divorce at the time, and looking for a change of scenery. He gave me her phone number, and the rest, as they say, is history." The other man shrugged. "She must have made quite an impression on House, I don't think I've ever heard him even mention one of his fellows before, much less recommend them for a job."

"It's definitely very…un-House-like," Wilson agreed, mind racing. _House_ had recommended Cameron? "How's she working out?"

"Ask her yourself." Andrew gestured with his hand toward the wand-slim woman slipping out of the driver's seat of the tiny red sports car-then winced when she promptly bent over the bushes and began to retch. "But maybe not at this _precise_ moment."

"Cameron!" Concerned, Wilson jogged over to her, leaning down to take the blonde ponytail from her cold, clammy hands. "Are you all right?"

"Wilson? What are you doing here?" Allison Cameron stared back at him with glassy, confused eyes. Her skin was sweaty and pale, her pulse visibly racing beneath her skin. Her hands were shaking at her sides, and the acrid smell of vomit hung in the air. Aside from the obvious signs of her illness, however, she looked exactly as she had when she'd walked out of Princeton Plainsboro that last day, bag slung over her shoulder, tears stinging her eyes.

He'd wanted to chase her into the parking lot, beg her to stay, but what was the point? There was nothing for her there, not anymore. He didn't have any cards to play. House had taken them all. But Wilson had missed her. All of them had.

"Oncology conference. Better question might be, what are _you_ doing here? You look like you should be home in bed."

"I'm fine. Really," she added, smiling at him wanly before looking over his shoulder. She immediately straightened, her cheeks flushing a bright, brilliant red. "Dr. McNamara. Good morning. I…"

Wilson felt terrible for her. It had been a long time, but he remembered vividly how it had felt to be embarrassed in front of his boss. Wilson opened his mouth-to say what, he didn't know-but Andrew beat him to the punch.

"Here you go, Dr. Cameron." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of saltine packets and passed them over. "Give these a try before you get out of bed next time. My wife used to swear by them."

"Thank…you," Cameron said in befuddlement, reaching out to take the crackers from his hand and ripping one open to nibble on the corner. Andrew smiled at the look on her face.

"A few of the nurses mentioned you'd been running back and forth to the bathroom quite a bit lately. I've gone through this a few times, it didn't take much to put two and two together. The crackers were a coincidence," he added when Cameron flushed even deeper. "I have a habit of stuffing some in my pockets when I know I'm not going to get to eat. You're just lucky I forgot to take them out."

"Thank you." Cameron winced, looking between the two men. "I'm so sorry. This is mortifying. I wish I could say it won't happen again, but…"

"Dr. Cameron, if women could control morning sickness, it wouldn't have ever made it into the medical books," Andrew said kindly, reaching out to place a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you swing by the cafeteria and get yourself some ginger ale or a cup of tea before you head down to the ED? I'll stop at the front desk and let them know you're on your way when I get back inside. I insist," he told her, moving his hand from her shoulder to her back and giving her a gentle nudge when she started to resist.

"Alright. Thank you. I really appreciate it." Cameron gave him a weak smile before turning her head back toward Wilson. "Dr. Wilson. It's good to see you again. I'm sorry I puked on you." They both laughed, just a little. "Enjoy the conference."

With that she shouldered her bag, slung her stethoscope around her neck and walked away.

"Cameron!" Wilson called, before he could think better of it. Cameron stopped, freezing in place for a moment before turning slowly around.

"Yes?"

"Have dinner with me tonight. I'm buying, and I won't take no for an answer," he said when she opened her mouth, presumably to refuse. "The little café on the corner of 4th and Main, 8:00." He was assuming they'd have something she could eat there.

Cameron hesitated, torn, he knew, between courtesy and the genuine desire to leave her past behind her. With anyone else, he'd be worried about her response. They hadn't seen each other in months, and she had to know he was dying to pump her for information. But he'd travelled all the way here, and it was Cameron. He was betting that her almost painfully good manners weren't going to let her say no.

"That would be nice, thank you," she said finally, gifting him with a hint of the smile he knew so well. "I'll see you then."

With that she turned and walked through the front doors of the building, leaving both men staring after her. For a moment, there was silence. Then Andrew turned to look at him with raised eyebrows and a knowing smile.

"So I'm guessing drinks are off then?"

 _ **Thanks for reading! Posting the next chapter tomorrow, in which we find out what happens when Cameron is sitting across the dinner table from WILSON instead of House :) So please follow, and stay tuned! In the meantime, please please please stop by and leave a review letting me know what you think, even if it's just a quick thumbs up. Reviews are the fuel that keeps my fingers typing!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2-Wilson**

"Are you feeling better?" Wilson glanced covertly at the blonde sitting across the table from him. Now that he was looking for it, he could see she had lost weight she didn't have to lose. Her cheeks were a little gaunter, the trim green blouse and black slacks she'd worn to work that day hanging on her thin frame where curves used to be

. She was still pale, but the faint shade of green she'd been wearing that morning was gone and she was looking at the menu with enthusiasm.

Pregnancy. Oy.

"I'm fine," she said absently, glancing over the menu and giving him a quick smile. "It usually passes by lunch. How have you been?"

Wilson raised his eyebrows, acknowledging the change in subject. "I'm fine. Busy-the outpatient clinic is closed temporarily for some plumbing issues, so right now they're funneling all their patients to us. We have some of their doctors on to help us out, but…"

"But that still leaves you with your hands full," Cameron said sympathetically. She knew. Of course she knew.

"Well. Hopefully not for too much longer." The waitress came and took their order, and Wilson bit the inside of his cheek to hold back a smile when Cameron ordered enough to feed an army. Either she hadn't eaten all day, or she was going to have enough leftovers to tide her over for the next week. He didn't mind either way. "How are you liking it here?" he asked when the server had left.

"It's okay." Cameron shrugged, then smiled. "Everyone's really nice, and I really like working with the residents. It's nice to be the teacher for once. But the cases aren't as serious as they are at Princeton Plainsboro-we ship out a lot more. So…" She trailed off, shrugging her shoulders again sheepishly. "I sound ungrateful. It really is a very nice place to work."

"But it doesn't challenge you," finished Wilson. "Understandable. You worked on one of the most acute care units in the country when you worked under House. Even in the ER, some of the trauma was pretty intense."

"Exactly." Cameron grinned at him. "I feel like sometimes my brain is getting soft. But that's enough whining from me. What have you been doing?" She paused, then asked, more softly, "How's House?"

He'd been wondering when she'd ask. If he'd seen her yesterday, he would have launched a full scale campaign to get her to come back. But now, knowing that House had recommended her for the job, understanding that she was here because his friend had actually taken the time to do something genuinely kind for another human being, it didn't feel appropriate.

"House is House. He misses you, although he wouldn't admit it if you plucked out his toenails." They both laughed, and if hers was just a little bit wistful, he pretended he didn't notice. "He's got another group of fellows he's terrorizing. How about you? How has the pregnancy been going, aside from the morning sickness?"

"It's fine." Her face softened then, and Wilson could see for the first time that pregnancy glow so many women had. "My OB says everything looks fantastic. I go in for another ultrasound in a month or so."

"That's fantastic. I'm happy for you," he told her truthfully. He'd always known she'd be a wonderful mother. She was a born nurturer, something not even House had managed to beat out of her. This child was going to be very, very lucky. But… "Not to pry, but what about the father? Is he…involved?"

It was none of his business. He knew it was none of his business. But she was his friend, and the fact that she hadn't mentioned a significant other when he'd asked her to dinner made him think that maybe she didn't have one. Which meant the father might not be in the picture. And the idea of someone walking away from Cameron, sweet, innocent, giving, caring Cameron, while she was carrying his baby was…unacceptable.

Her face immediately closed up, the cautious sparkle in her eye fading, but she didn't look angry. She'd known he was going to ask. She looked…resigned. Like a woman that knew the answer to that question wasn't going to be the one he wanted to hear. "No," she murmured softly. "No, he didn't want kids. Or me, when you get right down to it. It's better this way," she told him firmly. "Better to be a single mom than trying to raise a child with someone who wants nothing to do with any of it."

He wasn't sure who she was trying to convince, him or herself. But she was right. As a man, he felt like he owed a certain amount of loyalty to his gender, like he should be insisting that the baby had a right to know who its father was. But he'd seen too many deadbeat dads leave too much destruction in their wake. She was absolutely right. If this guy didn't want to stick around and own up to his responsibilities, she was better off without him. Reaching across the table, he gave her fingers a gentle squeeze.

"It's an amazing thing you're doing, and you're going to be a wonderful mom. If there's anything you need, or anything I can do to help, don't be afraid to let me know, okay?" He gave her hand another squeeze before letting go and turning his attention to the waiter standing there holding their plates. "Oh, that looks amazing. You know you're going to have to share some of that, right?"

Cameron beamed at him, obligingly shoveling a spoonful of her pasta over onto his plate before tucking in herself. For the rest of the evening the two of them chatted about little nothings, and when they parted ways he left her with a smile and a quick peck on the cheek. She hadn't asked him not to tell House about the pregnancy, or at least the fact that the father had checked out of the picture.

He knew it was implied, however. The last thing she needed right now was his friend's snide attitude and constant need to degrade the people around him making things harder on her than they already were.

No, he wouldn't tell House. He'd undoubtedly find out sooner or later anyway. May as well let that happen in its own sweet time. But now that he knew what she was going through, knowing that she was hundreds of miles away with no support system… Well. Sometimes Wilson hated his overdeveloped sense of responsibility. But he knew he wasn't going to be able to just walk away from her. Whatever else they'd been, he'd like to think at one point they had been friends. Or at least, something resembling it. And you didn't leave your friends to go through this kind of thing alone.

There were things he could do for her. His Visa could certainly handle the travel miles. Andrew and Polly were right there. He knew Cameron would be mortified he'd interfered, just like he knew he was going to sit down with Andrew tomorrow and have a chat about keeping an eye on her anyway. And once Polly knew she was pregnant and alone in a strange place, she would undoubtedly show up on her doorstep with chocolate and tea and advice and whatever else it was women did when one of them was having a baby.

He'd also quietly check into her doctor before he left, make sure she had someone capable taking care of her-and if she didn't, he'd pull the strings into place. It was no less than House would do if he was there, and Wilson knew when House found out he'd have Wilson's head on a platter if he thought the situation hadn't been managed appropriately.

That, he realized ruefully, was why he was taking Cameron's situation so personally. Yes, she was a friend, and a good person in a shitty situation. More importantly, she was someone his best friend cared about. He owed it to House to make sure she was well taken care of.

 _ **Three Months Later**_

"Jeez Wilson, you running away to see your girlfriend _again_?" House grinned up at him from where he was slumped over on Wilson's couch, cheerfully bouncing his oversized tennis ball on the end of his cane. "What is this, the third time in the past six weeks? Careful, or she's going to start expecting you to put a ring on it."

Wilson looked up ruefully from the paperwork he was trying to get in order before his flight out that night. He was exhausted. The department was still booming, House had been particularly trying this week, and he was worried about Cameron. Polly had called him earlier that day, concerned that she wasn't doing well. The pregnancy was taking a harsh toll on her-she'd passed out at work the night before, not something you necessarily expected to see in the second trimester. Polly said she was looking thin and haggard, even with the medication the doctors had her on her blood pressure was all over the place, and she was still getting sick far too often.

It jived with what Wilson had seen the last few times he'd been out to see her. She needed help. She probably needed to be on bedrest, or at least drop down to working part time, but she'd been firm about it when he'd brought it up last time. She was going to be a single mother, she needed the paycheck. She couldn't afford to cut down her hours, because she needed her benefits and she was saving what little vacation time she had for her maternity leave.

He didn't know what to do about it, but he knew he had to do something. She was off for the next four days. He intended to fly out, pamper her a little bit, and sit down and discuss exactly what he could do to make this easier on her. He'd already looked into hiring her a housekeeper. It wasn't much, but it was something. He didn't know what else he could do, but…there had to be _something_.

He'd talked to Cuddy about it that morning. She'd caught him down in the cafeteria and pulled him into her office, demanding to know why he looked like hell. He'd caved, worry for Cameron and the desire to have someone else on his side pushing him into telling her everything. Cuddy had immediately suggested bringing her back here-the hospital could consider the cost of her prenatal care part of her sign on bonus if she'd come on as a consultant up in immunology. They had a position open anyway, it wouldn't take much to tweak it a little bit. She could work fewer hours, spend less time on her feet. She could decide after the birth whether she wanted to stay on or go back.

He'd already pitched the idea to Andrew, who had assured him that he could let Cameron know the hospital would consider it an extended leave of absence. They could hire a locum and hold her job for her until after the baby was born, when she could decide if and when she wanted to come back. He knew that Andrew had been as worried about her as Wilson was, and he sounded relieved to have a solution on the table. In the meantime, Wilson was hoping he could sell her on the idea of settling into his guest room, where he could keep an eye on her and help her out if she needed it.

All the pieces were in place. Now he just had to get the stubborn woman to say yes.

He must have said the last part out loud, because the next thing he knew House's ball came winging across his desk, sending his paperwork flying.

"I was kidding. You can't seriously be planning to put a ring on this chic. You barely know her," House protested, looking at him in disbelief. Crap. Wilson scrambled for some way to save this that would get House off his back without spilling the beans. He didn't get a chance to, however. At that precise moment Cuddy came bursting into his office, heels clicking, a sheaf of paperwork in her hand.

"Oh good, you haven't left yet. Give this to Cameron," she said, holding the papers out to him. "It's a preliminary contract I had HR put together. It has everything, including an agreement to cover the cost of her prenatal care and first six weeks postpartum, as well as baby's first six weeks with all the appropriate immunizations. What?" she asked, finally connecting Wilson's frantic hand signals with the conversation she was having. Following his pointed look, she turned around and met House's eyes. "Oh shit."

House's gaze bounced back and forth between the two of them, eyes big, skin gone pale. "Cameron? All this time you've been sneaking around with Cameron? And now you got her knocked up," he said snidely. It was a typical house remark, but it was impossible for Wilson to miss the angry, wounded look in his eyes.

The easy thing to do would have been to lie and tell House that yes, the baby was his. But those kind of lies had a tendency to bite you in the ass. Especially when House wanted to know what he was doing here when Cameron was having his baby all the way over there. And besides, the truth would come out pretty quickly if he was able to talk her into coming back with him. It was a miracle House hadn't figured it out before now.

"I didn't knock her up," Wilson said wearily, taking the paperwork from a now silent Cuddy. "The dad checked out of the picture, so Andrew and I have been trying to help her. She's not doing well, and there's some concern she might lose the pregnancy," he continued, watching his friend's eyes widen. "I'm trying to convince her to come back here so we can help her out until the baby comes."

"I see." House was silent for a second, and Wilson braced himself for the inevitable barrage of questions about her medical condition. He was surprised when the next question out of House's mouth was a soft, "How far along is she?"

"About 24 weeks," Wilson told him resignedly. House looked at him and nodded, resting his chin on the top of his cane. Wilson could see the wheels in his head turning. Looking troubled, House tapped the end of his cane on the floor for a long minute, then stood up and hobbled silently out of the office, leaving Wilson and Cuddy staring after him in disbelief.

"Well. That was weird."

 _ **Thanks for reading guys**_ __ _ **And a huge thank you to innerurge1 for taking the time to post the first review! I'm shooting to have the next chapter up by tomorrow night, so stay tuned!**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3-Cameron**

She'd been waiting for it. She knew that once Wilson knew, it was only a matter of time before word got back to House. She'd been ready-ready to calmly state her case, explain that she was doing just fine, thank you very much, and that he could be on his way. She'd been prepared to be cool, confident. Beautifully, happily pregnant.

When the months went by and she hadn't heard from him, she'd started to relax. Maybe Wilson hadn't said anything. Maybe he HAD said something, and House just hadn't put two and two together.

Maybe unicorns would come flying out of the ceiling and save her from this mess. She knew better. Wilson could only keep his mouth shut for so long, and as much as she despised him sometimes, the one thing she could give House was that he wasn't an idiot. And, House being House, he would tackle the issue in his own time…or in this case, at the worst possible moment.

She wasn't even surprised when she heard the brisk knocking of wood on wood on the door to her apartment, or the slow creak as it swung open while she was buried face down in the toilet, heaving up what felt like last week's lunch but couldn't have been because she'd been so sick last week's lunch hadn't stood a chance. Her entire world narrowed down to the cold tiles beneath her puffy legs, the frigid chill of the porcelain toilet…and the man standing in the doorway to her bathroom, scrutinizing her carefully.

Of course he would catch her at her weakest, when she didn't have a chance of defending herself. Sagging weakly against the toilet, she quietly refused to look at him. Let him be as snarky as he wanted. She had bigger problems. He'd undoubtedly vent his spleen, reassure them both that he was an utter bastard, and be on his way.

She wasn't expecting the soft thumping of his cane against the floor when he reached over her head to pull a washcloth down off the shelf, or the gentle hands that gathered her hair up in an awkward messy bun before stretching the washcloth along the back of neck. And she wasn't expecting him to step over and gingerly lower himself to the edge of the bathtub, his bad leg stretched out in front of him, his good knee next to where her head was currently bent in supplication to the porcelain gods.

"Were you planning to tell me some time before little House junior graduated from high school?" The question was brusque, with a thin thread of sarcasm behind it that was exclusively House. He could never just be nice.

"I was kind of hoping to just be able to whisper it to your tombstone on her wedding day," she said curtly. "It would have been very moving." She wished…oh how she wished…that she could come up with something more clever. Something snarky and awful that would just make him go away. But her stomach was sick and her head was aching, and before she could put any more thought into it another wave of nausea grabbed her and sent her diving back into the toilet bowl.

"She?" She could hear House's almost involuntary interest as he shifted himself on the edge of the bathtub, making sure he was well out of range if she happened to miss the toilet bowl. "You don't think she'd want her daddy to walk her down the aisle?"

"Go away House," she muttered when her stomach finally emptied itself, leaving her with a nasty case of dry heaves and a dull, endless misery that never quite left. "I can't deal with you right now."

"Oh, come on now Cameron." His voice was taunting now. "You don't want to tell our daughter about her parents' great love story?"

Slumping back against the wall, she looked at him for the first time through a thin veil of tears. Her stomach was rolling, her mouth tasted like vomit, her head was pounding, and he looked…well, tired, but otherwise, he looked exactly the same. The unfairness of it all was an ice pick to the heart. "You're making it sound like she'd have had a chance at actually HAVING her parents around," she snapped. "You said it yourself, you don't want kids. You don't even LIKE kids. And you sure as hell don't want me," she added tiredly, tipping her head back and closing her eyes. "You made that perfectly clear. Over, and over, and over again."

God, why wouldn't he just LEAVE?

"Besides, a quick, drunken screw on a park bench in the middle of winter doesn't exactly make us the next great lovers of our generation."

There was silence, a deep, empty silence that stretched on for what felt like an eternity. Cameron wanted to cry. This was all wrong. Here she was, sitting in the bathroom with the man she loved sitting next to her and the baby they'd made growing and bouncing inside her. It should have been a picture perfect moment. Only the man didn't love her, the events that had brought him here should have embarrassed both of them, and so many things were going wrong with this pregnancy she didn't know if the baby was going to make it anyway.

It was a fitting punishment, she thought wryly. The minute she'd had the chance, she'd grabbed for what she wanted, and damn the consequences. And what she'd wanted was House.

It wasn't intentional. She'd gone to a bar near the hospital the night she and Chase signed their divorce papers. Her last night working at Princeton Plainsboro. She'd been alone, and she'd been lonely. Then in he'd walked. He hadn't said a word to her, just sat down next to her and gestured for the bartender to bring them another round…and another…and another.

"Figured you should celebrate kicking Cuddy and the wombat to the curb in style. Now shut up and drink," he'd said gruffly when she asked him what he was doing there. She'd been just drunk enough to agree with him.

It had seemed like the most natural thing in the world to stagger with him out into the snow after last call to try and find a cab. And, when they hadn't found one, they'd reasoned it made sense to head toward his apartment. They'd walked with their arms around each other, holding each other up as they slipped and slid in the snow. And when House had taken a tumble in the abandoned park near his building, landing on a bench and pulling her down onto his lap in the process…

Well. They had been very, VERY drunk, after all.

When they were done she'd lain on top of him while their breathing leveled out, then pulled him up and headed toward his house without a word. She was, unfortunately, well on her way to sobering up after what had to be the best orgasm of her lifetime. He'd been silent the whole time, waiting, she knew, for her to ask what it all meant.

For someone who thought he knew people so well, he was awfully slow to figure out she wasn't that girl anymore. She was a divorced woman, walking drunkenly through the snow with a man who had, for a brief moment, been her lover. It was nothing more than that.

And so she'd hugged him goodbye on his porch step, slipped into a cab and driven away. Six weeks later, she found out she was pregnant.

She'd run the full gamut of emotions, from elation to terror and finally, acceptance. There would be no telling House about this baby. It didn't matter how much she loved him, he would be a terrible father. She had her baby to think about now. It wasn't, she reasoned, like she was ever going back to Princeton Plainsboro. She could live her life, House could live his, and he'd never have to know. When their daughter was old enough to start asking questions, she'd tell her that her father was a good man, a doctor, who she had lost touch with before she knew she was pregnant.

Only now he was here, and she couldn't figure out why. Just like she couldn't figure out what he was doing when he pulled his phone out of his pocket, sent a quick text, then stood up and pulled her gently to her feet, catching her when she wobbled.

"I just told Wilson you weren't coming to work today," he said gruffly, avoiding her wide eyes while he guided her toward the door. "You need to check your blood pressure, then get back in bed. And don't you dare puke on me."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4-House**

Tapping his fingers pensively on the end of his cane, House stared sightlessly out the window of Cameron's big, sunny, friendly living room. The room, hell, the whole damn apartment, screamed Cameron. The family photos on the wall, the brightly colored rag rug in the middle of the room, the lacy white curtains hanging over the windows. The couch he was on was soft and comfortable, and on the coffee table by his knees was an eclectic mix of medical journals and women's magazines.

She'd set a bassinet under the window, and there was a co-sleeper next to the bed in her room where he'd tucked her in-or rather, she'd tucked herself in, turning her back on him angrily after he'd forced her to take her pills and check her blood pressure, which was much higher than it should have been. She'd been asleep just a few minutes later, and House had stared at that co-sleeper for what felt like hours before walking out the door.

Jesus. Pressing the handle angrily into his skin, House banged his head into it. He should have never touched her. He'd spent years keeping his hands to himself, pretending not to notice every time she looked at him with those puppy dog eyes, asking him for something he knew full damn well he wasn't capable of giving her. She was too young, too idealistic for the kind of sordid affair they would have had if he'd ever given in. He'd reminded himself constantly of the difference in their ages, the fact that he was her boss and, eventually, the fact that she was married to Chase.

More importantly, Cameron was the kind of genuinely good person he never had been, never could be. She had too much potential to waste it on him, and he knew it. He'd known it from the minute she'd walked into his office for her interview and held out her hand, her smile all but lighting up the room. So what the hell had possessed him to walk into that bar? If he'd just stood and stared for a minute, giving himself one last look at her before heading on his way, they wouldn't be here right now.

But no. He'd gone with impulse, unable to resist the chance to be in her company just one more time. To remember her with that drunk, happy smile instead of the teary, angry goodbye she'd given him in his office.

Everything after that was a blur. He remembered lots of tequila, shooting row after row in silence until the bartender called last call. They hadn't been able to find a cab, and when he'd fallen and pulled her down onto that bench he wasn't entirely able to convince himself it was an accident. He'd wanted her forever, and while he was a little fuzzy on some of the details what he did remember was enough to wake him up in the middle of the night, sweaty and reaching for…what?

He wanted to scream that one time shouldn't have been enough to screw up their entire lives, but he was a doctor. He knew better. All it took was once, and they sure as hell hadn't given a thought to protection when she'd tugged at his belt buckle and he'd slipped up her skirt.

And now she was pregnant. It hadn't seemed real to him, before. When Wilson had told him, he'd struggled to wrap his mind around it. Sitting on the edge of the tub, however, he hadn't been able to tear his eyes away from the noticeable curve of her formerly flat stomach. It was inconceivable that he and Cameron, of all people, were having a baby, but it was impossible to deny the round, puffy truth of it…just like it was impossible not to realize that this pregnancy was going very, very wrong, and unless someone did something about it there was a chance that both Cameron and his daughter were going to die.

Restless, he pushed himself up from the couch and paced around the room, pausing to smile, just a little, at the framed photo of her, Foreman, Chase and himself that sat on her mantle. He remembered that day. She and Chase had just gotten engaged, and she was full of smiles and laughter when she'd pulled him into the photo. It felt like an eternity ago, back when she still believed in him, and he could pat himself on the back and reassure himself that he wasn't such a bad person, because look. He let Cameron go, and she was happy. He'd been right all along.

'How the mighty have fallen,' he thought dryly, taking a lap around and peeking through the open bedroom door to look at the woman sleeping on the blue and lavender bed. God, she was such a girl. Her eyes were puffy from crying, her face and hands swollen from the fluid she was retaining. What wasn't fluid was gaunt, and there were dark circles under her eyes.

He wondered what was keeping her awake at night. Was she afraid?

The idea made him uncomfortable. He'd never wanted to be responsible for someone else's happiness, damn it. It was why he sucked at relationships so badly. As much as he wanted to, though, he couldn't walk away from this one. He may have hated his father with a passion, but there was one lesson his father had drilled into his head the first time he'd caught him nabbing a Playboy magazine that House absolutely agreed with.

A real man didn't knock a woman up and then walk away.

House had never given a damn about living up to his father's expectations, but he knew he would this time. Not for his dad. Not even for his daughter-god knew, that little girl would probably be better off without him in her life. Even though his feet ached to walk out that door, walk far and fast in the other direction and pretend like he didn't know a single thing that he'd learned in the last 48 hours, he knew he wouldn't. The idea of Cameron lying alone in that bed of hers, crying because she was pregnant and alone and afraid, made him ache in ways he didn't even think he was capable of.

No, he would do it for Cameron. He just had no idea what "it" was.

 **Thank you guys so much for reading and following! And HappyVicodinPill, thanks for taking the time to comment on each chapter** **It made my day!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5-House**

His thoughts were interrupted by a rattle of keys in the front door. Surprised, House turned around to see Wilson standing there, a suitcase in one hand, a bouquet of flowers in the other.

"Ahhh." Wilson arched an eyebrow, tossing a set of keys on the counter and walking over to set his bag on the floor by the couch with an easy familiarity House immediately hated him for. "I figured you were here somewhere if you were texting me to call Cameron out of work. Although I honestly don't know why you couldn't just do it yourself."

"Because I'm not as naturally charming as you." House nodded toward the keys on the counter. "I didn't realize you had your own all-access pass to Cameron's place. If I did, I would have set up a booty call."

"Don't be an ass," his friend told him, walking over to poke his head in Cameron's fridge. "Cameron's been letting me crash on her couch instead of at a hotel. It made more sense for me to have a key than to have to hunt her down at work whenever I got in."

House noted dryly that WIlson wasn't disappointed by House's snide behavior. He didn't even sound exasperated, like he usually did. He just sounded…distracted. And from the way he was pulling cheese and cold cuts out of the fridge, he was entirely too at home for House's peace of mind.

The sharp stab of jealousy was ridiculous. House knew it, even as he let it drive him forward to grab a cold cut off the sandwich Wilson was building and chew it obnoxiously in his general direction. It had always surprised him, on some level, that Wilson and Cameron hadn't ever hooked up. Not that Wilson made a habit of hooking up with the people who worked underneath him.

But Cameron was…different. For starters, Wilson wasn't LITERALLY old enough to be her father. And despite their age difference, unlike the two of THEM, she and Wilson were two peas in a pod. Of course, Wilson couldn't keep it in his pants, so it wasn't like they would have lasted very long, but he knew they would have been one of those adorable Hallmark couples while they did.

"So you saw Cameron?" Wilson asked around a mouthful of food.

"If by saw you mean did I stare at her like a stalker while she slept, then yes." House waggled his eyebrows. "For a pregnant chic, she's got a great ass."

Wilson ignored the sarcasm and got straight to the point. "What did you think?"

At this, House sobered. This, the medical stuff, this was what he was good at-even if it was a textbook case that could have been handled by a first year OB/GYN. "She looks like crap," he said frankly. "I'm surprised no one has admitted her yet."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too." Wilson sighed, slumping back against the counter with a dejected slouch that was completely out of place with his role in Cameron's life. Not for the first time, House wondered what had gone on between them when Wilson had been out here before. He, of all people, knew you didn't have to be sleeping with her to be hung up on Allison Cameron. She just wiggled her way under your skin with all that sweetness and light until you didn't know which way was up.

He wondered if the day would come when Wilson would be playing daddy to the little House-let. The thought was sobering.

"So what are we going to do?"

"We?" House raised his eyebrows mockingly. "You're the one that's been out here keeping tabs on her, I figured you had that all figured out by now. Speaking of, how the hell did you let it get this bad? I assume you checked into her doctor, which also means I assume you know he's obviously an idiot."

"He's not an idiot." House and Wilson's heads turned reflexively to see Cameron walking into the kitchen, yawning widely with her hands stretched into the air. House zeroed in like a missile on the thin strip of naked skin when her shirt rode up.

"Shut up House. Hey Wilson."

"Cameron." Wilson accepted her hug, bending down to kiss her on the cheek. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." She peered at his sandwich hopefully, and without a word Wilson passed it over to her and started digging into the fridge to make another one.

"Hey! You always complain when I steal your food," House whined, instinctively assessing Cameron now that she was up and walking around. Her color was better, and the fact that she wasn't bent over the toilet was encouraging.

"You're not pregnant."

"I'm sure there's a clinical trial for that somewhere," he grumbled, taking a second to wonder what in the hell would possess a grown man to think being pregnant was a good idea. Then he had another second to debate the niceties of the situation before addressing his next statement to Cameron. "You're coming back with us."

"Excuse me?" Cameron arched her eyebrows, taking another bite of her sandwich. The challenge in her eyes wasn't unexpected-Cameron hated being told what to do. It was the surprise that got to him. She really thought, after everything, that he would leave her here like this.

"You can't stay here." House gestured with his cane. "You're working overtime, ignoring doctor's orders, skipping appointments. Your last ultrasound showed some intrauterine growth restriction, your doctor put you on bedrest twice, your blood pressure's climbing, and from the volume of pills still in that little bottle by your bed you haven't been taking your medicine like a good little girl either. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were _trying_ to kill off this pregnancy, and yourself right along with it, but since you're you I have to assume you're coming home at night after working twenty hours and passing out instead of eating a healthy dinner and popping your beta blockers."

"How the hell do you know all that?"

House just stared at her. Really?

She sighed, shaking her head and scowling. "Never mind. I don't even want to know how you found out who my doctor was, or who you had to bribe into letting you read my chart. I missed ONE appointment because I was in the OR with the patient, growth restriction is brain sparing and minimal-my doctor's monitoring it-and yes, _maybe_ I missed a dose or two, but that's it. We're fine, House. I can take care of myself."

House opened his mouth to argue, but Wilson hopped in before he could piss her off any more. Which was probably a good thing. She was cute when she argued with him, like a small, hissing kitten swatting at a Rottweiler. All fluff and tiny little claws. But making her angrier probably wouldn't help his case to get her back to Princeton, where she would have Foreman and Chase and Wilson and Cuddy to help her out, and where he could personally keep an eye on her.

And he was pretty sure admitting her boss had been the one to give him access to her records wasn't a good idea.

"What House is not very tactfully trying to say is we're worried about you," said Wilson gently, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her up against his side. "You're showing all the early signs of pre-eclampsia, and it's probably going to get worse before it gets better. We just want to help. Cuddy already offered you a temporary job in immunology-you'd be a consultant, which means overseeing a small number of patients, most of them outpatients. You could sit down and pop your feet up rather than running around all day.

"Andrew said he would hire a locum and consider it a medical leave of absence rather than a resignation, which means you're still eligible for benefits. Princeton Plainsboro will cover the costs for all of the high risk pre-and post-natal care you need as part of your sign on agreement. I don't know if you remember Dr. Lee, but he's an excellent obstetrician and he's expecting you.

"After the baby's born and you both get a clean bill of health, you can come back here or, if you decide you want to stay in Princeton, Dr. Jones is retiring at the end of the year," he told her, naming one of the current attendings in immunology. "Cuddy's prepared to offer you the job, and keep you on as a consultant until then."

"Well, you've got it all figured out, don't you?" Cameron sounded irritated, but House could hear the exhaustion under it. Wilson did too, and he squeezed her tighter.

"We're here for you," he told her gently. "If you don't want to, it's okay. But the offer's on the table. It would be easier for you to take care of yourself, and the baby," he added, going in for the kill shot. "You have to know you can't keep going like this."

Cameron opened her mouth to argue, then closed it and slumped dejectedly up against Wilson. Her eyes filled with tears.

"I know," she said quietly, while one trickled sadly down her cheek. House had the feeling it was the first time she'd actually admitted she was going to need help. She'd never been good at that. "I'd be an idiot to turn it down. But…" she frowned. "I let my apartment go when I moved. I don't have anywhere to stay."

"You can stay with me," House told her gruffly, ignoring Wilson's surprised look and mentally re-arranging his house to figure out where he was going to put her. He was going to have to get Thirteen and Taub to go by and move all of the boxes out of his guest room. They liked Cameron. Chances are, if he told them it was for her, they'd even do it for free.

Cameron snorted. "Not a chance in hell."

"And I don't blame you," said Wilson grandly, shooting him a glare. "You can stay with me, if you want. My spare bedroom is huge, and it's not like I'm ever home anyway. If you decide it's not working out, or you decide you're going to stay and you want your own place, we'll give you a hand finding an apartment. Or a house, if you'd prefer."

House scowled, surprised at the shot of anger racing through his system. It was his baby, damn it. He didn't want her staying with Wilson. But Wilson didn't know that, did he? And Cameron didn't seem to be in any big damn hurry to tell him. Of course, he hadn't told Wilson either, but that was different. He'd known about this baby for all of what, five minutes? Wilson had been flying back and forth visiting for months. Cameron should have said something by now.

Of course, she hadn't planned on telling HIM about this baby-ever-so it probably wasn't a surprise she hadn't said anything to Wilson. But still…

"Oh, come on. You can't be a real baby mama until I'm sleeping on the couch and you're taking all of my paycheck in child support," he said snidely. "Of course, since you were never planning on telling me in the first place, guess you're not interested in the job. Oh well. Too late now."

It was the wrong thing to say. Wrong, and cruel. He knew it while the words were coming out of his mouth, but he couldn't seem to stop them. He wasn't sure if he was angry with Cameron for getting pregnant, angry at her for not telling him before now, angry at her for refusing to even stay with him temporarily while she was so sick, or just plain angry. Whatever it was, the already almost non-existent filter on his mouth had completely checked out.

Cameron groaned, closing her eyes. Wilson snorted, then, realizing he wasn't kidding, dropped his arm from around her shoulders and stepped back, looking back and forth between the two of them with disbelief.

"Wait. This is…it's _House's_ baby?" he asked, looking stunned.

"No," Cameron said firmly. "It's _my_ baby. House isn't interested."

"How would you know?" House scowled at her, tapping his cane on the floor. "Hell, how would I know? You haven't given me any time to think about it."

"I gave you six years to think about it. You weren't interested. No reason for that to change now." Cameron turned back to Wilson. "I'd appreciate that guest room, thank you."

"Ahhh…" Wilson stammered, turning to look at House. It was painfully obvious Wilson didn't want to get in the middle of whatever the hell this was between him and Cameron. It was also painfully obvious that if Wilson took back his invitation, Cameron was going to dig in and plant her ass right where she was.

"Fine. But I get visitation at least every other day, and twice on Sunday. It's only fair, since you've been hogging the little House-let all to yourself the last six months." Reaching out with his cane, he scooped his jacket off the back of Cameron's couch, turned, and walked out the door, making sure to slam it behind him. Wilson and Cameron could figure out the details. Now that he knew Cameron was coming back, he needed to get out of there before things got any worse.

He wasn't surprised to hear Wilson's footsteps chasing after him, but he refused to slow down. The downside to being a gimp was it was real damn hard to avoid someone when you didn't want to talk. Sooner or later, they'd catch up with you anyway.

"House…wait…" Wilson bent over, wheezing to catch his breath when House stopped and turned around. "Where are you going?"

"I figure there has to be a hotel with a hooker around here somewhere." He nodded toward the apartment building behind them. "Shouldn't you be up there helping her pack?"

"I will. But first…jesus." Wilson dragged his hand through his hair and looked at him in stunned disbelief. "You slept with Cameron? And you didn't say anything about it?"

"Slumber party was scheduled for next weekend." He relented under Wilson's knowing look. "She was leaving town. There was tequila involved. It was a one-time thing."

"Not anymore." His friend's face was grave when he looked at him. "What are you going to do?"

"Hotel. Hooker. Then I'm flying home. I'm sure Chase managed to blow up something while I was gone. You can't leave him unsupervised for a minute."

Wilson scowled. "You can't seriously be planning on just walking out on her. House, that's your _kid._ "

"And she doesn't want me around!" he snapped. "What the hell am I supposed to do about that right now?"

"I don't know!" Wilson shouted back. "I don't…I don't know. But you can't just brush this under the table and leave her to deal with the fallout."

"I won't." House sighed, his chest deflating like a balloon, all his anger leaking away. "But there's nothing else I can do right now, and if I try and dig in she's just going to insist on staying and handling everything herself." He looked at Wilson bleakly. "She wasn't going to tell me," he said softly. "No matter what happens, she wasn't going to tell me. Ever."

Wilson sympathetically reached out to squeeze his shoulder, and just for a second House let himself soak up the comfort of having his friend with him while he sorted out this mess. Then he realized Wilson wasn't here with _him,_ not really. He was here for Cameron. And maybe it was better that way.

"Just…take care of her, okay?" House shrugged off the hand, digging his keys out of his pocket. "God knows I don't have anything she needs right now. We'll figure everything else out later."

 _ **Thanks for reading guys! Sorry the last chapter was so short, but I knew this one was coming down the pipeline and I wanted to break them up a little. Thanks again, SO MUCH, for taking the time to follow and read and review and generally being awesome! I try and reply to all reviews, but I'm back in school and going a little nuts so if I missed you I'm sorry**_ __ _ **I promise, I'll try and do better next time!**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6-Cameron**

"Cameron! You're back!" Grinning, Foreman opened his arms wide and pulled her in for a tight, uncomfortable bear hug in the middle of the workspace outside of House's office, in front of the desk that used to be her own. "I figured for sure House was full of shit."

"Oh yeah?" Cameron rolled her eyes. She was almost afraid to ask. "Why, what did he say?"

"That you had decided to become a stripper, and he'd hired you to give him and Wilson lap dances every day."

Of course he did.

Eying her very pregnant stomach, Foreman looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Looks like he left a couple things out…and so did you. Congratulations."

Cameron laughed uncomfortably. She'd been waiting for this. She and Foreman hadn't exactly been BFFs after she'd left Princeton, but they emailed every couple of weeks. Just little chit chat, catching up on each other's lives. She told him about her new apartment and the crazy lady two floors down that took her cats for a walk every day. He told her about his new girlfriend's snoring habits.

She hadn't told him about the baby because...well, she couldn't say because she was afraid he'd go running to House, because Foreman didn't roll like that. But it was the kind of thing that came up in casual conversation. Not only did she not want to explain it to House, she didn't want to explain it to _Chase_ …who was the only one who knew they'd slept together that last day, and whose eyes were currently bugging out of his head.

"Allison," he said slowly, staring at her with a look of carefully masked dread. "Do we have something we need to talk about?"

"No," she answered firmly, "and yes, I'm absolutely sure," she added when he opened his mouth to argue. She stopped there, aware of Foreman's wide-eyed interest, hoping he wouldn't press her for more details. She really didn't want to have to explain that she'd known she was pregnant with House's baby when she'd slept with Chase. It wasn't something she was particularly proud of.

Of course, Chase couldn't just let it go. It drove her nuts, the way he was just like House-couldn't keep his damn personal life out of the office. Or the office out of his personal life. Or however you wanted to look at it. The point is, neither one of them realized that private business should be discussed in private.

"How can you possibly be sure?" he asked, reaching out to take her hands and study her stomach. "Looks like you're what, about five months along? That would put you…"

"Chase, stop." She forced the irritation out of her voice, trying to remember that she'd loved him once. That once upon a time, she'd hoped he'd be the father of her children. Of course, she hadn't hoped too hard, had actually been relieved when her period came month after month after they'd started trying. That should have told her something was wrong, right from the beginning. But she knew finding out she was having someone else's baby so quickly was going to hurt. "I knew I was pregnant before then, okay?"

"Wait, you knew you were pregnant when we…?"

"Yes."

She didn't offer any other details, didn't plan on it. That was all he really needed to know. Chase's jaw dropped in disbelief, his eyes darkening with hurt. She felt bad, but it was a necessity. The last thing she wanted was him hanging on to hope that this baby was his.

"Soooooo," Foreman, who had been watching the entire exchange, decided to hop in and save her before it got too awkward. "What ARE you doing back here? When you left, we were pretty sure we weren't going to see you again."

It was still uncomfortable, but she knew this was another conversation she was going to have to have. "This pregnancy…isn't going well," she said, choosing her words carefully. "The baby's not growing well, and my blood pressure's too high. I couldn't keep working the way I had been. Cuddy offered me a temporary position as a consultant in immunology. Fewer hours, less stress, more time off my feet. And she called in some favors and got me bumped to the top of the list for an appointment with high risk obstetrics here at the hospital." Looking down at her casual maternity top and yoga pants, she smiled ruefully. "That's where I'm headed now, as a matter of fact."

"I'm sorry to hear things aren't going well." Foreman reached out, pulling her in for a casual, one-armed hug. "If there's anything we can do for you, let us know. When do you start back here?"

"Day after tomorrow."

"Where are you staying?" This was from Chase. She was sure the argument over sleeping with him while she was pregnant wasn't over, but for the moment he'd apparently moved past angry into concerned. She felt her heart melt a little. He really was a good guy, down underneath all the crap. It was why she'd married him in the first place.

"Wilson's guest room, for the moment. I'm looking for an apartment near the hospital that has month to month leasing, but no luck so far."

"How on earth did you end up bunking with Wilson?" She could see Chase's brain turning. Before it got out of control, she rolled her eyes and slapped him on the shoulder.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, I'm not sleeping with Wilson. Apparently he and my current boss are old college buddies, and he felt sorry for me when he heard what was going on. He was the one that arranged this job with Cuddy, and offered to let me bunk in his guest room until I could find a place so I could move a little sooner. Nothing more to it than that."

"That's a little philanthropic for a guy who's not looking for anything more, isn't it?" Chase's voice was starting to get snarky now. Cameron sighed. She really didn't have the energy to do this. Before she could come up with a reply, however, House's voice cut through the tension in the room.

"This is _Wilson_ we're talking about," he said, hobbling over on his cane to stand just behind her right shoulder. "He'd give you the shirt off his back to soak up the afterbirth if you asked. Or even if you didn't. Truthfully, given some of the crap he wears, it might be an improvement," he mused thoughtfully, shaking his head before turning to her. "Dr. Cameron, are you ready?"

"As I'm going to be." Grabbing her purse off the table, she smiled at Foreman and Chase. "It's good to see you guys. We'll have to do lunch."

"Sounds good," said Foreman, looking at her and House with mild interest but not much surprise when House put a hand on the small of her back and nudged her through the door. She supposed it said something for how well he knew House that it didn't surprise him that House would be all up in her business, even without knowing he was the father of her baby. Chase was less subtle, but before he could open up his mouth and ask a question that House would undoubtedly answer in a manner guaranteed to humiliate her-he was still pissed she hadn't told Wilson-he jumped in.

"I'm going to make sure Dr. Cameron gets to her appointment in one piece. These halls can be awfully confusing when you've got all that blonde hair sucking up your brain cells. In the meantime, unless you've managed to diagnose our patient in the two hours since I last saw you, I'd suggest you finish checking on those tests I ordered. Then order anything else you think they might need, since I'm going to be busy watching General Hospital. Have an answer for me when I get back."

With that he turned and walked out the door, leaving her to look at her former colleagues ruefully before following him out.

"Thank you," she said softly, walking beside him toward the elevators and doing her best to ignore the curious looks coming her way. There weren't too many-most of the staff had been there when she had worked there before, back when there was nothing unusual about her and House talking quietly together while they walked down the hall.

"For what?" he said gruffly, reaching out to poke the elevator button that would take them up to obstetrics.

"For not saying anything to Chase about…" She flushed, embarrassed. House just turned to her and raised a knowing eyebrow.

"For not telling your ex-husband that you've been sleeping with his boss? That seemed like a once in a lifetime experience. I'd hate to deprive you of it." Slapping his cane against the elevator doors when they opened (and making a patient jump a mile), House stepped in and looked at her expectantly. "Coming?"

Wordlessly she stepped in, the door closing behind them to lock them into their own world. The silence stretched to the point where it became awkward.

"You don't have to come, you know," she said, when the space finally reached the breaking point. "I'm a big girl, I'm perfectly capable of going to a doctor's appointment by myself."

"I know." His voice was soft for a second, not sounding in the least like his usual sarcastic self. Fortunately, the moment passed quickly. "You're all grown up now. I really just wanted to come along for the crotch watching. I mean, I've been there before, you know, but it wasn't like I actually got to see anything."

"You ass." She was both angry and relieved. This House, the sarcastic bastard that drove everyone nuts, THIS she knew how to deal with. Those rare moments of vulnerability were another story altogether. Seemed like she'd been seeing more and more of them since she moved in with Wilson, and she didn't like it.

When she'd first made the decision not to tell House about the baby, it had been cut and dry. She loved this baby. She wanted it. He didn't. And House wasn't the kind of guy you backed into a corner. She figured that even if he ever found out about it, he'd be glad to be let off the hook.

But now…now things weren't so simple. He'd shown up at Wilson's when she'd moved in two days ago. While he hadn't been much help because of his leg he'd sat on the couch and made jokes, and when it was done he bought them all pizza and beer, with sparkling apple juice for her. There was some stupid television show that he and Wilson typically got together to watch on Monday night, and instead of ignoring her he'd popped her feet on Wilson's coffee table, stuck a pillow behind her back and told her if she kept her mouth shut during the episode he'd give her a cookie.

Smiling, surrounded by a feeling of warmth and relaxation that had been missing since she left Princeton, she'd drifted off to sleep. And while it had been Wilson's arms she woke up in while being carried to bed, it was House who pulled off her bunny slippers and tucked her in.

He'd surprised her again that morning, when he texted to tell her he was coming with her to her doctor's appointment. She'd tried to argue. First, he wasn't even supposed to know she HAD an appointment, although expecting him to stay out of her medical record for the next fifteen weeks was too much to ask. Second, having him around at Wilson's and at the hospital for the next few months was going to make it hard enough to remember why she didn't want anything else to do with him. The last thing she needed was him wrapping himself further into her and her baby's life.

But when he told her she could either let him come or he was going to walk up and down the hallway opening patient doors until they threw him out, she gave in. Only because nobody deserved that, she assured herself. It had nothing to do with the unexpected and unwanted warmth in her stomach at the idea that House wanted to be involved in this pregnancy.

She met the curious looks from the staff who recognized him with a quick roll of her eyes, which garnered a sympathetic smile in return. They didn't know why House was there, but they knew it was easier to walk naked down the middle of I-95 than make House budge when there was something he wanted to do. She'd never met Dr. Lee, had always worked with his residents in the past. She was relieved when he turned out to be a jolly old man with more than a passing resemblance to Santa Claus that had been delivering babies since before she was born.

She'd been terrified of what House was going to do, but to her surprise, aside from telling the nurses he was there for moral support he'd sat quietly through the whole appointment. He'd even stepped respectfully out of the room when Dr. Lee did her internal exam, which shocked her-she figured she'd have to sandblast him out of there. Sure, he may have done it with a little bit of grumbling about how he was a doctor, it was nothing he hadn't seen before, etc, etc. But the point is, he'd done it.

And it was nice not to be alone. She couldn't count the stabs of envy she'd felt sitting in the waiting room at the obstetrician's office, watching dads-to-be dote on their expecting girlfriends and wives, knowing that was never going to be her. This time she had someone with her to help pull her out of the chair and make snide comments about the office and staff that made her laugh while they waited.

It was so unexpected, this enjoying sharing a small part of her pregnancy with House, that she hadn't complained when he grabbed his cane and followed her down to ultrasound. The ultrasound tech, who Cameron knew VERY well from her days working under House, since they'd more or less made his life hell, thankfully hadn't asked any questions about why House was the one sitting there with her. Then he waved the wand over her stomach and the image of her baby popped up on the screen, heart beat echoing through the room, and in that moment she didn't even stop to think. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world to reach out and squeeze House's hand, turning to smile and share the moment.

 _ **Thanks for reading! I know the timing's a little awkward with the canon, but as someone pointed out, it was too weird to think that someone wouldn't wonder if this baby was Chase's. Especially Chase.**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7-House**

He swore he could feel that heartbeat in his stomach. Staring at the small, moving watermelon on the screen that was currently taking up space in Cameron's uterus, feeling her tiny hand wrapped around his and seeing how she automatically reached out to share the joy of the moment, without expectation, despite how she felt about him, House felt…numb.

It was like something inside him had shifted and the earth was moving and if he let it the bottom was going to drop out, and he wasn't sure he could deal with that. He wasn't Cameron, beaming at the picture on the screen now with beatific happiness. She had let go of his hand almost as quickly as she had grabbed it, her fingers now resting on the cold tabletop beneath her, but she flicked her glance his way occasionally, trying to judge his reaction, and he forced himself to put on his best doctor face to cover up the fact that he didn't feel anything. Anything at all.

Instead, he focused on the screen, concentrating on thinking like a doctor rather than a father-to-be, comparing baby's size and organs to where they were supposed to be at this stage. Cameron had been right, although he'd never admit it to her. There was clearly some reduced blood flow getting to the baby, probably a result of her high blood pressures, but it wasn't too bad. Overall, baby looked good.

Now they just had to make sure it stayed that way.

"Alright, all done." The ultrasound technician turned and smiled at Cameron. "You can get cleaned up and head back upstairs."

"Thanks." Cameron's voice was softly husky, the way it was when she was trying not to cry, but she took the paper towels he passed her and wiped the gel off her skin without shedding a tear. She spun around to the edge of the bed and he automatically stood, reaching a hand out to help her down and ignoring the surprised look on the tech's face before he turned and walked out of the room.

"All set?" House asked her, and she smiled politely, her eyes vacant now as she reached out to grab her purse off the windowsill. It was like looking at a different person from the one that had reached out to him before, and he realized suddenly he didn't like it. Not coming from her. Impersonal, hiding behind barriers, that was his gig, not Cameron's.

"Pretty sure the doctors screwed up," he said casually as they walked back toward the elevators. He saw her head jerk his way in surprise, her eyebrows raised, and he smiled to himself. It didn't matter how much she hated him right now, she still had faith in his medical opinion.

"How so?"

"Pretty sure you're actually growing an alien watermelon in there. Not surprising, considering it's my kid, but…ouch!" He looked at her with mock hurt, rubbing his shoulder where she'd smacked him. "What was that for?"

"Because you're a jerk." She was smiling now, just a little. "You actually had me worried for a minute."

"Why?" He shrugged, stepping into the elevator and reaching out to keep it from closing on her. "You have the same MD I do. You don't need an overpriced specialist to tell you what you already know."

She was silent, but still smiling, and he wasn't sure which one of them was more surprised when he reached out to brush a piece of hair out of her face. "It's going to be okay," he told her softly, not sure if he was trying to reassure her…or himself.

He still wasn't sure two hours later, when he'd ditched Cameron, banished his team to go start antibiotics on their patient whose name he still didn't know but who they'd finally diagnosed with leprosy, and settled into his office to stare disinterestedly at the pile of mail on his desk. Thirteen wasn't as efficient as Cameron at dealing with his paperwork-she seemed to have this weird idea that he should do it himself.

"So how did it go?" He looked up in surprise to see Cuddy standing in front of his desk, fingers tapping restlessly against the side of her skirt. He gestured to one of the overstuffed chairs, mostly so she'd stop looming over him. "The patient? He almost killed himself so he didn't have to admit to his wife he had a girlfriend overseas, but a good dose or two and he should be back to lying in no time."

"Not what I meant, although that's good to know," she said, deliberately overlooking his obnoxiousness. He hated when she did that. It meant she had something serious she wanted to talk about, and she was going to overlook all the roadblocks he threw up until she got to the point. She had, he acknowledged wryly, known him far too long. "How was Cameron's appointment?"

"Scintillating." At her arched eyebrows, he rolled his eyes. "I see Wilson filled you in."

"He told me this was your baby." Her eyes were compassionate now. "How are you doing?"

"Me? I'm not the one growing an alien watermelon." His lips quirked, remembering the smack he'd gotten from Cameron earlier that day. Cuddy smiled.

"Somehow, that wouldn't surprise me. Although hopefully it'll have enough of Cameron in it to make it at least halfway human." Her face sobered. "I know this is huge for you. If there's anything you need…"

"A month off clinic duty?" he asked hopefully.

She was the one that rolled her eyes this time. "Not a chance." Standing up, she tapped the front of his desk. "If you need someone to talk to, either of you, I'm here." Her smile twitched at the edges. "I have to say, I'm impressed you haven't run screaming for the hills by now."

"Thought about it," he admitted, before he could censor himself. He debated stopping there, then figured what the hell. He'd known Cuddy since med school, and she and Wilson were the closest thing he had to friends. "I'm going to screw this up. You know that, right?"

Realizing that he wanted to talk, possibly for the first time ever, Cuddy sat back down in her chair. "What makes you say that?"

"Oh, come on. Don't be dense." House gestured around his office with his cane. "This, this is what I'm good at. I'm not good at…people. Sitting in that ultrasound today, she was all smiles and sunshine and I…wasn't." He sighed, tapping his cane on the floor. "You know, she wasn't going to tell me. Maybe it would have been better that way."

"No it wouldn't." Her voice was firm. "You're going to doctor's appointments, making sure she takes her medicine. Dr. Lee's office tells me you were almost tolerable. You're here, and you're trying. That's what counts."

"But is it enough?"

The question popped out before he could stop it. Cuddy smiled, pushing to her feet and walking around the desk to squeeze his shoulder. "That's going to be up to her. But while you're figuring that out, you might want to figure out why you're doing all of this. Like you said, you're not good with people. Normally this is the kind of commitment you'd run from like someone lit your tail on fire. So what's making you stick around when Cameron's doing everything possible to push you away?"

Standing on Wilson's doorstep later that night, he shifted the package in his arms uncomfortably and rang the doorbell again, Cuddy's words playing in an endless, irritating monotone in the back of his head. He knew Wilson was working, which meant Cameron should have been home alone. But the apartment was dark, and no one was answering the door. She must have gone out.

He knew it was ridiculous, but he couldn't help the sharp stab of worry as he settled down onto the stoop to wait. And because it had always been easier for him to get mad than be worried, he'd worked his way well past irritated into infuriated when her car pulled into the parking lot an hour and a half later.

"House!" Cameron stepped out of her car, the wind making the lacy skirt of the maternity dress she'd worn dance around her feet. She glanced up at the dark, gloomy sky, the lightning dancing from cloud to cloud threatening a wicked spring storm. "What are you doing here?"

"Better question is, what _aren't_ YOU doing here," he corrected, struggling to his feet and scooping up the package he'd brought before standing back so she could unlock the door and let them both in. It occurred to him that he had a key to Wilson's, he could probably have handled that part himself. But the martyrdom of sitting out on the front stoop hoping the sky wasn't going to open up seemed better suited to his mood. "I figured you'd be home with your feet up, not god knows where doing god knows what with god knows who."

"I had dinner with Foreman and his new girlfriend, not that it's any of your damn business," she told him haughtily, hanging her keys on Wilson's tidy little key rack. House eyed it with distaste. She was already picking up Wilson's fussy-assed habits. "Let's get one thing straight, House. This may be your baby, but that absolutely, positively, in no way makes you my boss. In fact, the farther you keep your nose out of my business, the happier we're all going to be."

"Not what you said this afternoon," he shot back, wanting to kick himself when he saw the defensive light flare into her eyes. Damn it, this was not how he wanted this to go. Realizing that she was primed for a fight, it was unfortunately going to fall to him to diffuse the situation. Not his strong suit on a good day, but…"I'm sorry."

The words almost choked him coming out, but the instant wary confusion on her face was worth it. "Sorry for what?"

"For…everything," he told her quietly. "For being such an ass to you for six years that you couldn't tell me you were having my kid. For getting you pregnant. For not being a better person. Hell Cameron, pick one. I'm sorry for all of it."

She stared at him, wide eyed, stunned speechless. He could see her bottom lip beginning to quiver, and cursed under his breath. "Here." He shoved the package he'd brought into her hands, then shifted uncomfortably on his cane while she looked at it with wary eyes.

"House…"

"Just open the damn thing," he grumbled, uncomfortable. "And none of that girly tape peeling crap you do either. I'm going to be dead before you get it open if you do that."

She snorted. "Promises, promises." And sure enough, she took every piece of tape off the package before she peeled the top back. The stunned surprise on her face was worth every second of the humiliation he'd felt at the baby store as person after person asked if he was buying a present for his grandson.

"House, this is…I don't even…" Holding up the tiny toddler outfit, complete with jeans, Harley t-shirt and a leather jacket that looked just like his own, she huffed out a breath. "This is gorgeous."

"Yeah, well, I figured the kid would get enough puky pink crap from your side of the family," he said, shifting from side to side before giving up and sinking down into a kitchen chair. "She needed something decent the first time she wrecks her tricycle."

Cameron sat down next to him, spreading the little outfit out on the table. Crap, she was going to cry. With a martyred sigh, he pushed himself to his feet and grabbed the paper towels off the counter, shoving the entire roll at her.

"Why (hic) are you (hic) doing this?" she sniffled miserably, wiping her face frantically. "Damn it (hic), House, I was all set to forget about you. Why did you (hic) have to (hic) go and turn into a decent person (hic) now?"

"Decent might be pushing it a little," he said dryly, then sighed, leaning forward so his chin rested on his cane and he could see Cameron's face. "I have no idea how to be a decent father," he confessed. "My own wasn't exactly a sterling example, and as you can see, I'm not exactly the type to rise above adversity and become a stellar human being." His brutal honesty was rewarded by a quick laugh.

"I don't want my kid to think of me as the guy who knocked her mom up and walked away," he told her softly. "I don't…really want her mom to think of me that way either. I don't have the first clue how to do this-any of this. I'm trying, and it still seems like I screw it up every time I turn around, and god knows my best probably isn't going to be good enough, but I figure that's what the kid has you for."

"One of us has to make sure she doesn't grow up needing years of therapy," agreed Cameron. He was embarrassed to realize there were tears stinging the back of his own eyes and burning their way down his throat as the mantle of numbness started to thaw.

The sheer awesomeness of what he was about to try and do was overwhelming. He was going to be a dad. He might be a crappy one, but he was the only one his little girl had and he didn't want to get pushed out of the picture. And the only way that was going to happen was if he could convince her mother he was serious about this.

"Don't…don't push me out, please," he told her, deliberately looking past her so he didn't have to meet her eyes. He was banking awfully hard on Cameron's good nature in that moment, and even he knew it. "I know I've done absolutely nothing to deserve it, but…please. Just don't."

"House…" Cameron's voice trailed off and she looked at him helplessly. "What am I supposed to say to that?"

"Say you'll give me a chance." Looking up, he was relieved to see confusion and fear instead of anger on her face.

"I've given you a million chances. Why is this one going to be any different?"

"Because I'm going to earn it this time." Taking the risk, he reached out and lifted her hand off the table, lightly running his thumb across her fingers. "I'm going to screw up-I know that. But I'm going to try. For the baby, I'm going to try."

 **So, what do you guys think? Think House can get it together? Or do you think it'll all blow up in his face? I LOVE feedback, so feel free to chime in on where you think things are going from here. As always, many thanks to everyone who's taken the time to read, follow and review. You guys are the best!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8-Wilson**

"What the hell? Was he possessed by aliens?"

"Maybe he's finally getting some."

"Someone probably slipped him some Xanax."

"I don't care what it is, y'all better shut up and enjoy it. God knows it's not going to last. Now get back to work."

Wilson smiled to himself as he scribbled his last note in the patient's chart, dropped it in the bin, then looked up to see the large, southern charge nurse shooing two of the staff nurses away. He didn't have to ask who they were talking about. He and House were the only two on duty in the clinic that day.

He'd braced himself to do double duty while House sat on his butt and watched TV. Sometimes he thought Cuddy scheduled the two of them together to punish him. He just couldn't figure out what for.

To his surprise, not only was House actually doing his share of the work, he was…pleasant. Chipper, even. Wilson had heard a couple of patients standing by the desk talking about how nice that doctor with the cane was, and could they schedule with him again next time?

He was pretty sure the receptionist swallowed her tongue at that one.

He had no idea what was responsible for House's good mood. While he was dying to go and pump him for details, however, he figured it was probably smarter to wait until his day was done. That way, when House decided to get all pissy, he couldn't walk out and leave him with a packed waiting room.

But he was done now, and felt no compunction whatsoever about going over and knocking on the closed door of the other exam room. When House popped his head out, not quite opening the door all the way, Wilson said, "I'm done. Want me to wait and we can grab dinner?"

"Sounds good. I'll meet you in the cafeteria." Then House ducked his head back into the room, not even giving Wilson a glimpse of who was sitting on the table. It was like he was respecting patient privacy, which was basically unheard of for House.

Almost as unheard of as House buying his own dinner, which he actually did before sliding into the seat across from Wilson and digging in.

"Soooooo," said Wilson slowly, trying to gauge his mood. "Good day?"

"Not too bad. You?" House looked up at him politely, then took a big bite of burger.

What the hell? House didn't do polite, he really didn't do small talk, and he hated pickles, which his burger was currently full of. On a normal day, he'd have been flicking them across the room, spitting out a half-chewed mouth full of food while he was at it. This time he just swallowed, sat his burger back down on his tray and started picking them off.

"Okay, I give," Wilson said finally, when he couldn't take anymore. "What's going on with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you're being…nice." House stared at him blankly. "You didn't offend a single nurse today. I even heard patients ask to see you again. You were…nice," he repeated, not able to come up with anything else.

House just shrugged. "I guess I was feeling extra shiny today." His eyes flicked over Wilson's shoulder, and Wilson watched as his friend almost imperceptibly straightened in his seat. Following his gaze, Wilson's eyes landed on Cameron, standing in line paying for her dinner.

Oh. That's what way the wind blew. Suddenly, House's good behavior that day…the past few weeks, come to think of it…started to make sense.

"Cameron," Wilson called, lifting a hand and waving her over. She hesitated for a minute, then, with an almost imperceptible shrug, walked over to the table and slid in next to him.

"Hey guys. How's it going?" Cameron poked at the unappetizing lump of what Wilson assumed was supposed to be some kind of meatloaf before sighing and tucking into her salad. House wordlessly slid out of the booth, coming back a few minutes later with a cheeseburger and fries.

"Here," he grumbled, plopping them both on the table and sliding back into his seat. "No wonder you've been sick. Kid's going to die of lack of protein you keep feeding it crap like that."

"House!" Wilson stared at him in disbelief. Cameron just scowled at him, but she didn't waste any time tearing the wrapper off the burger and tucking in. House leaned back in his seat, looking extremely satisfied with himself.

It was adorable.

Wilson bit back a smile, turning his attention back to his own plate, and what he thought was supposed to be fish, but he wasn't quite sure. He should have figured Cameron would be able to handle House. She'd certainly had enough experience.

However tentative their truce happened to be, it was nice to see those two getting along.

He'd worried, for both of them. Cameron was a stellar roommate-she cooked, she cleaned, she sat on the couch and watched baseball without complaint. But she was quiet, almost ghost-like, walking around his house. He knew she wasn't entirely comfortable staying with him, even less so with the amount of time she was spending around House as a result.

House, on the other hand, had all but taken up permanent residence in his living room. Wilson worried it would end explosively-his friend might be a master at swallowing his emotions, but Wilson knew House was still seething with hurt. Not just because Cameron had planned on having this baby two hundred miles away and not saying a word about it, but because she'd left him in the first place.

In House's mind, everyone he cared about left. He was too damaged for a real relationship, so he pushed them away before they ever had the chance. He'd thawed with Cameron, in the beginning, when she'd first come to work with him. But when months turned into years and Cameron realized he was never going to give her what she wanted, their relationship changed. She married Chase.

House had never recovered.

Wilson had expected something to happen when she divorced Chase. What, he wasn't sure, but…it sure as hell hadn't been this.

The two had been circling each other the past few weeks, but it had a softer edge to it. They talked more and shouted less. Cameron would come out of her room to sit with them on the couch and eat pizza, watch TV and argue over politics. House made an effort to include her when they were all together, something he was pretty sure he hadn't even done when Stacy was in the picture.

And sometimes, when his friend thought no one was looking, Wilson would catch him looking at her _that_ way. Like a flame in the darkness, something bright and strange and exotic, drawing him in almost against his will.

It was those moments that worried him. Loving his daughter was going to be difficult enough for House. Loving Cameron, if she decided not to stay, was going to destroy him.

"Yoohoo. Earth to Wilson."

Wilson jerked back to reality to realize House was waving a hand in front of his eyes. Apparently, he'd blanked out.

"Sorry." Wilson turned and smiled at Cameron. "I spaced out for a minute. What did I miss?"

"We were trying to decide what to do when we got out of here. House may have offered to pick up ice cream on the way home," Cameron said with a sly smile and a sideways look at House, who rolled his eyes and managed to look extremely put upon.

"Fine," he grumbled. "But there better be something in it for me when I get back."

"If you're good, I'll save you some."

House snorted, and Wilson laughed. Now that Cameron was actually on the right combination of meds to make her feel better, she was turning into a junk food addict. Ice cream was rapidly becoming a precious commodity. He himself had taken to picking her up a pint after he got off just to save himself from listening to her complain about not having any. It was hysterical to see her talking House into doing it too.

"Fine. If I have to stop and wade through three thousand containers of ice cream, I'd better get started. You two better not start Oprah without me." House started to slide off the seat, scooching his tray across the table, then froze. The expression of utter horror on his face had both Wilson and Cameron spinning in their seats. Wilson fully expected to see Cuddy standing there holding some patient chart or another. What he didn't expect was House's mom.

"Greg! There you are!" The woman came bustling over to press her cheek to her son's. "You're impossible to get ahold of, you know that, right?"

"I do have a cell phone, you know."

"Yes, but you actually have to answer it for it to do any good." She smiled, reaching down to ruffle his hair like he was three again. "You need a haircut. Wilson!" She turned, fixing Wilson with a beaming smile. "It's so good to see you again!" Looking at Cameron, who had shrunk up against Wilson for support, her eyes widened. "Greg didn't tell me you were expecting. Congratulations!"

Almost under her breath, Wilson heard Cameron whisper, "Oh god." He couldn't agree more.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9-House**

Crap.

House looked back and forth between his mom's pleasant smile and Cameron's panicked face. Crap crap crap. He'd known he was going to have to have this conversation sooner or later. He'd been ducking his mother's calls for the past three weeks because frankly, Cameron was the only female he could handle right now. And he wasn't sure how in the hell he was going to tell his mom about this baby.

He also knew there was a better than average chance that Cameron would make him pay in highly unpleasant ways if he told his mom she was going to be a grandmother in the middle of the hospital cafeteria. Which meant this wasn't the place or the time.

There was only one thing to do.

"We're all headed to Jimmy-boy's for ice cream after this. You can come with, if you want." He said it casually, like he didn't know it was probably the first time in over a decade he'd invited his mother somewhere. It wasn't the smoothest save in the world, but it bought him time. And he knew Wilson wouldn't mind.

"Oh, I don't want to intrude," his mom said, but he caught the pleased blush on her cheek.

"It's no trouble," Wilson assured her, quickly catching on. Or else desperate to change the subject himself "We'd be happy to have you."

House knew his mom assumed Wilson included Cameron in that "we", and it irritated him. Since she WAS living at Wilson's though, he supposed it was technically true. Speaking of staying…

"Where are you staying while you're in town?"

"I figured I'd get a room at the hotel. You're always so busy…" His mom trailed off and House sighed, feeling like a jerk. See, this was why you couldn't soften up to anyone. Start thinking about your own behavior too hard, and suddenly you realize what a creep you've been to everyone else. Not like he didn't already know he hadn't exactly been his mom's dream son, but there was nothing like having it slapped in his face

"My couch is your couch, if you want. Or you can have the guest room, although I'll probably have to dig it out," he said gruffly. His mom's eyes immediately filled with tears she quickly blinked away.

"That would be nice, if you're sure it's not too much trouble."

"Yeah, well, just keep the wild orgies to a minimum and we'll be good," he grumbled. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Cameron smiling at him encouragingly. She'd always been huge on that bridging the gap with his parents thing.

He'd never forget the first time she'd met them. He'd wanted to punch his father in the face when he told her that House never mentioned her. He never talked about work with his folks, because that was a part of his life he kept to himself. It was the only place he was happy, the only place he felt like he belonged. He didn't want his asshole father to step in and ruin that for him. But god, he'd felt about two inches tall when he saw her face fall.

He wanted to tell her that he didn't talk about her, about any of them, because they mattered to him, and his father had a long history of ruining things that mattered to him. He wanted to tell her that when he looked at her, he saw something small and bright and beautiful that was threatening to bloom into something magnificent, and he wanted to protect that. But neither one was his style. He'd hoped she'd understood, when she had chosen not to join them for dinner and they'd talked in his office after. He'd always thought she did. She was Cameron. She _got_ him.

He should tell her, he realized, when he watched her duck her head and go back to her meal like she was trying to stay off his mother's radar. Like she didn't think she belonged. Like she was that young woman fresh out of medical school that tried too hard to fit herself into the tiny hole that was House's life.

Only she wasn't, was she? She was his daughter's mother, which meant she was stuck with him for the next eighteen years, at least. He deliberately ignored the sinking pit in his stomach when he thought about her being gone after that.

"Mom, you remember Dr. Cameron." He nodded with his chin when Cameron's eyes got wide and snapped to his face.

"Do I?" His mom frowned, searching Cameron's face for something familiar. "I apologize dear. I'm sure we've met, but I can't bring it to mind."

"I used to work with…your son," Cameron said, glancing at him one more time before holding her hand out. The familiar gesture was a kick in the gut. She'd greeted his parents like that when she met them before. And she'd done that every time she'd told him goodbye. "We met several years back, when you and your husband came to visit."

"Oh yes, I remember." His mom's face cleared and she smiled, taking Cameron's outstretched hand. "You were so sweet. I apologize, I didn't recognize you. Did you dye your hair?"

"I did!"

'Women,' House thought dryly, shaking his head as Cameron and his mom got into an intense conversation about the best methods and brands for dying hair. He supposed she was qualified, his mother had been hiding her gray roots for years. Wilson just rolled his eyes at both of them, well used to being surrounded by female nonsense-he did have four ex-wives, after all-before turning back to his dinner.

Later that night, when they'd eaten ice cream and cookies at Wilson's, with Cameron cleverly dodging the conversation about her pregnancy as much as possible, House opened up the door to his apartment and waved his mother in.

"Mi sofa es tu sofa," he told her grandly, making her laugh. She looked wide-eyed around his apartment.

"You know, I think this is the first time I've ever seen this place," she said abruptly, setting her purse down on the piano bench. Unwrapping her scarf and draping it over her arm, she walked over to look at the heavily laden bookshelf, with books and medical journals stacked haphazardly on the edge of each shelf. "I see how you've been spending your time."

"You've been here before. Haven't you?" He frowned, trying to remember when he'd last invited his parents over to his house. He'd been living here for close to fifteen years. They had…that one time…

"No, I haven't." His mom looked at him, her expression droll. "We always ended up seeing you at the hospital, if we saw you at all. I was starting to wonder if you really had a home, or if you were actually homeless and using your job as a cover."

"Ah." There it was, that 'I've been a rotten son' feeling. He hated that. "Well, this is it. Not much to talk about, really."

"It's lovely."

Looking around his apartment, he couldn't imagine what his mom could possibly find lovely about it. Yeah, the couch was big and comfy, because he'd wanted something big and comfy. His piano was polished to a shine because it was one of the only things he owned he gave a crap about, and there were curtains over the window so he wouldn't accidentally flash the neighbors. Not that he cared, particularly, but someone might call the cops.

But it wasn't like Cameron's place. There wasn't a whole lot of warmth to it. There were no family pictures on the wall or knick knacks on the shelves. The only personal things in the room were his gaming system, his books and…shit.

"Oh Greg, this is a lovely photo." Smiling, his mom picked up the picture he had sitting on his mantle. It was one of only two personal photos he kept on display, and it was a copy of the same one he'd been looking at over at Cameron's house. The one of him, Chase, Cameron and Foreman. "You almost look…happy." Looking over at the other one, she laughed. "And look at them here."

She picked up the photo, one of Wilson, Foreman and Cameron that Cuddy had taken at a hospital function. They were all dressed up and smiling for the camera, looking all intelligent and formal and doctor-y…but Foreman was giving Cameron little bunny ears. House was pretty sure another version of that picture, one sans bunny ears, had shown up in one of the hospital's fundraising newsletters, but Cuddy had framed a copy of this one and stuck it in his office without telling him.

He'd taken it home when she wasn't looking.

"They look like a lovely bunch." His mom sighed, set the picture back on the mantle and turned, her hands twisting in front of her. "Greg, I…"

"Don't," he said gruffly. "Please, just don't." He knew she wanted to talk about his father, make excuses for him, and he just didn't have it in him to listen. The man had been a bastard, but he was dead now. He didn't want to let his memory ruin this time with his mom.

"Alright." She nodded, coming over to perch on the couch. "James and Allison certainly seem happy. I'm very pleased for them."

It hadn't taken long for his mom and Cameron to find their way to swapping first names, he thought wryly. The two had hit it off immediately, and while part of him was incredibly uncomfortable with that, the part of him that was trying to be a better person was glad. It was going to make what he had to tell her a little easier-and he figured he might as well get it out of the way now so that if she was going to get pissed off and leave, she could do it before he took the time to clean the crap out of his guest room.

"Yeah, Jimmy's gonna be one hell of a godfather." Flopping back on the couch, he tipped his head back and sighed, waiting for the inevitable.

"Godfather? Oh." His mom flushed, embarrassed. "Well, that's embarrassing. I assumed…"

"Yeah, well, you know what happens when you assume." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and looking around. "I'm gonna have to babyproof this place," he said idly, then turned his head to look at her. "Might be a good project for you, if you're sticking around. Seeing as it's your first grandchild and all."

"My first…?" His mom stopped, gaping in disbelief. Then her mouth snapped shut and her eyes filled with tears. "My first grandchild? This is your baby?"

"Yeah," he said gruffly, wincing when she did exactly what he was expecting and threw her arms around him.

"Oh honey, I'm so happy for you." She sat back, wiping her eyes, her smile brilliant. "I could kill you for waiting this long to tell me. What were you thinking, you'd just wait until the kid graduated high school and send me an invitation? But…" She frowned, and he could see her mind working.

"But why is she living with Wilson? It's a long story," he said dryly, figuring he may as well go all in. "I wasn't…particularly nice to Cameron, back when you first met her. Shocker, I know." She laughed wetly. "I thought…she was half my age, you know? And she was so damned naive. A sweet little bleeding heart. I would have ruined her," he said gruffly, looking down at his feet and trying to ignore the unspoken implication that he still might. "Then she got married to Chase. The blonde wombat." He nodded his head toward the photo she'd been looking at. "Then they were getting divorced, and she was leaving to start a new job and…things happened." He figured he probably didn't need to get into details. His mom had been married and had a child, she could fill in the blanks.

"I didn't figure it was going to be anything more than that, until I found out she was pregnant. She came back to Princeton because she's pre-eclamptic and the baby's not doing well, and it's…complicated."

"I see." From the gentle sympathy in her eyes now, he thought that she did. Maybe a little more than he wanted her to. "What are the baby's chances?"

"Better than they were a couple of weeks ago," he admitted. "Now that she's seeing an OB who's not completely incompetent. As long as she's a good little girl and follows doctor's orders, they think she'll go to term. It's a girl," he added unnecessarily. It seemed like the kind of thing she would want to know.

"Oh." Her eyes watered up again. "A little girl. Have you two picked out a name yet?"

"We haven't talked about it," he admitted, then smiled, just a little. "Not really my thing. Knowing Cameron, she's already got it all picked out and embroidered on her first baby blanket."

"Ah." His mom studied him thoughtfully, then smiled, reaching out to squeeze his hand. "You're going to be a wonderful father," she said softly, squeezing tighter when he snorted. "I know your father wasn't perfect, and lord knows, you had your differences…" Talk about understatements. "But as much as you deny it, you grew into a good man. You love her, don't you?" she asked gently.

"The baby?" He shrugged, restlessly moving his shoulders. "She's my kid, isn't she? It's what you're supposed to do."

"No, I didn't mean her. I can tell you do already, whether you admit it or not." She smiled at him. "I mean Allison."

He jerked his head up to look at her. "Excuse me?"

"Allison. I could tell, the way you were looking at her tonight. I didn't want to say anything, but I could tell." She looked at him sagely, then patted his hand. "She looks at you too, you know. She's a sweet girl, and she's going to be a wonderful mother. You're very lucky." Her smile was just a bit wistful, the way it had been when he was going off to college the first time and she'd stood on the porch steps and waved goodbye. "Now, what do we need to do to shovel off that guest bed? It's been a long day, and I'm going to need my energy tomorrow."

"For what?"

She smiled sweetly. "For going shopping, of course."


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N: Sorry about the delay getting this up here! With school in session, finding time to write has been a challenge. I hope this makes it worth it!**_

 **Chapter 10-Cameron**

"Dr. Cameron?" Cameron looked up from the papers in front of her, blinking to clear the tired haze from her eyes. She'd been up half the night worrying about what House was telling-or not telling-his mother. Wilson had tried to talk to her about it, but she'd cut him off and he'd finally given up.

She didn't want to think about it. Mostly because she didn't know what, exactly, she was hoping he would do. It wasn't exactly like he'd been walking around the hospital telling everyone she was having his baby.

But then, neither was she. And while her parents and her brother knew she was pregnant, she hadn't told them who the father was, other than it wasn't Chase. She'd never forget the look on her dad's face when she told him she'd gotten pregnant from a one night stand with someone she was never going to see again. (Or so she'd thought.) She could only imagine what he was going to say when she told him she'd gotten knocked up by her boss.

' _EX_ _boss_ ' she corrected herself, forcing herself to smile at the intern standing in the doorway instead of biting his head off. She was done seeing patients, and just wanted to finish up this pile of paperwork so she could decide if she was going to hunt down House or head for home.

"What is it, Dr. Scott?"

The young man with blonde hair and stringy limbs blushed all the way up to his hairline. "Someone here to see you." He'd no sooner finished talking than Mrs. House came breezing into the room. "She's, ah, right here."

"Allison!" Mrs. House-Blythe, she reminded herself-breezed around the corner of the desk to buss her cheek. "I'm glad I finally found you. My son gives terrible directions. I'm pretty sure he intended for me to end up in the men's bathroom," she said with a quick frown, then a shrug. "No matter. This young man was very helpful." Turning around, she beamed at the young intern. "Thank you for your help. We won't keep you."

The intern lingered in the door for a second longer, then wandered away when Cameron smiled at him encouragingly. Good lord. She was pretty sure he had a crush on her, which was unbelievable considering how hugely pregnant she was at the moment, but it seemed like she couldn't take two steps without tripping over him.

She was starting to have a whole new sympathy for House. Looking back on her first years on his team, she winced. With the benefit of hindsight, she was beginning to realize just how pathetic she'd been. Panting after him for scraps of affection, working night and day in the hope that he'd pat her on the head and tell her she'd done a good job. Like a damn dog looking for a bone.

Well, she wasn't that girl anymore. No way. Even if she did get all squishy inside every time he showed up at the front door with a carton of mint chip. Which just happened to be her favorite. But that didn't mean anything, she reminded herself, other than he was trying to stay on her good side so she didn't cut him out of the picture. She was sure the minute the baby was born and they'd worked out some kind of visitation schedule, the intimacy they shared the last few weeks would be a thing of the past.

She just had to convince herself she was okay with that.

Turning to Blythe, she dragged her mind back into the present. "How are you?"

"I'm fine dear." Beaming, she sat down in one of the overstuffed chairs across from her desk. "Oh, this is nice. So much better than those orange plastic monstrosities my physician uses. I swear he's still back in the stone age. Anyway, I wanted to see if you were free to have dinner and do a little shopping with me." Her eyes teared up a little. "Greg told me about the baby. I know he said things were a little complicated between the two of you, but I'd really like the chance to get to know you a little better. And to get a jump start spoiling my granddaughter."

"Oh." Cameron floundered for a moment. She wasn't sure what to say. On one hand, Blythe was right. Things WERE complicated between her and House, and she wasn't sure what was going to happen after the baby came. On the other hand, this was her daughter's grandmother. She was going to be part of her life, regardless of what happened between her and House. At least, she hoped she would. Knowing House…

Right.

"That sounds great," she said with more confidence than she felt. "I still have some things to finish up here though. Were you in a hurry?"

"No no, not at all." Blythe waved her hand in the air. "I'm really just puttering around today. Greg gave me his keys, said he had a new patient and didn't think he'd be home tonight. So I'd be thankful for the company."

"Downside to working in diagnostics. One of the perks to this job is I'm out of here by 6 every day." Cameron laughed, remembering the all-nighters she'd pulled when she was on House's team. She was definitely getting spoiled to keeping regular office hours-even as a ED doc, the days were long.

"Fantastic. Why I don't I meet you back here at 6?"

"Sounds good." Cameron smiled until Blythe walked out the door, then sat back in her chair with a sigh.

While she'd never admit it to House, she was giving more thought to staying on at Princeton Plainsboro every day. It felt a little wishy-washy, considering the number of times she'd left and come back already, but it would definitely be a better fit for her new life as a single mom. As a consultant, unless something popped up she wasn't expected to work weekends or take call.

If she took a staff position (the opening lined up with the end of her maternity leave so nicely, she swore it was like it had been made that way) she'd still have regular office hours. She'd have to rotate taking call evenings and weekends, which meant she'd probably have to hire a nanny, but unless she wanted to put the baby into the daycare downstairs-which she really didn't-she was going to have to do that anyway.

She winced a little at the thought of what that was going to do to her paycheck, then shrugged philosophically. Not like she had a choice.

She took a moment to think about Dr. McNamara, and the job and people she'd be leaving behind, and realized she was okay with walking away. It was a good job for someone without kids, but she needed to think about her life _now_. And now, what she needed was a schedule that let her be there for her baby. There were other doctors, and while she'd like to have believed otherwise, she wouldn't be missed for long. There were always other jobs. She was only going to get one chance at being her daughter's mother.

If she was serious about this, she needed to do some house hunting. Which meant talking to Wilson and Cuddy first, to make sure the offer was still on the table. She hustled through the remaining charts she had to sign off on, then went downstairs to Cuddy's office before she could change her mind.

"Dr. Cameron." Dr. Cuddy looked up in surprise from where she was packing up her briefcase. "Please, come in."

"I'm sorry, you were going home. It can wait."

"No, that's okay." Cuddy smiled, sinking down into her chair and waving her hand for Cameron to do the same. "What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to ask…" Cameron paused, thinking about the question she'd come to ask, then took the plunge and went with another one. "How do you do it? Juggle being a doctor with being a single mother?"

"I have a really good nanny." Cuddy laughed. "I'm very fortunate that I have a certain amount of flexibility and a taste for chaos. You're worried about what's going to happen after the baby comes?"

"I…yes," Cameron admitted. "I'm having dinner with House's mom tonight, and it got me thinking about what was going to happen…after. Out there, it's just me. And when I'm in the ED, I work 16 hours a day, and I'm more or less on call 24/7. That was fine when I only had to worry about myself, but now…"

"Now your priorities have shifted. You're thinking about staying here?" Cuddy's eyes lit up.

"I am," Cameron admitted. "If you're still willing to bring me on. The schedule's better, and I'm not nearly as exhausted when I get home at night."

"As we told you, the job is yours if you want it. I'll get the paperwork put together." Cuddy hesitated, then smiled. "I have some recommendations for nannies too, if you're interested. I interviewed several of them for Rachel. Unless you're putting her in daycare," she said quickly. "The daycare here is very good, they've kept Rachel for me on days when the nanny wasn't able to be there."

"I'd prefer to hire someone to come to the house," Cameron said. "Daycares are a hotbed of germs, especially for a winter baby. I'd be grateful for that list."

"I'll bring it in tomorrow." Cuddy hesitated, then casually asked, "How are things going with House?"

"Surprisingly good." The words were out before Cameron could stop them. Then, because it was Cuddy and she knew House better than Cameron did, she added, "I keep waiting for him to screw up, but he hasn't. He really seems to be serious about this."

"I think he is. In fact, I don't think I've seen him this serious about having a relationship with anyone since…" Cuddy cut off, flushing.

"Since Stacy?" Cameron said dryly, the name still poking her in the heart after all these years. "It's okay, you can say it. I know there's nothing between House and me, and that's okay. But I know he's got it in him to be a good father. As long as he does that…"

Cameron trailed off, not ready to follow that thought to its conclusion-that as long as House had a good relationship with his daughter, she was okay with the fact that he didn't feel anything for her. It was too much of a lie to even be part of the truth.

Cuddy looked like she wanted to say something else, and Cameron cut her off before she could. She was sure the older woman was going to say something about not throwing in the towel on House just yet, and Cameron just couldn't deal with that. She didn't need any more false hope. She could generate enough of that on her own.

"Thank you, for everything." Awkwardly pushing herself out of the chair, she smiled at Cuddy. "I don't know if I said it before, but I can't even begin to imagine what I would have done if you hadn't brought me back here. I'm very grateful."

"You're very welcome." Standing up and picking up the briefcase she'd set aside, Cuddy led Cameron to the door and flicked off the lights. "We've missed your smiling face around here. It's been good to have you back."

They weren't two steps out of Cuddy's office when she was called over by one of the nurses at the clinic desk. With a rueful smile, Cameron waved and kept walking. Being the boss meant never having three seconds to yourself. She didn't envy her that.

Deciding to take the stairs back up to her office rather than the elevator, she ducked into the hallway behind the ED-and immediately bumped into House.

"Shhhhh," he whispered, putting a finger to her lips before she could say anything. "I'm hiding from the she-dragon."

"Which one?" she asked, unable to resist the playful look in his eyes. It was so rare that she saw him look anything other than tense and crabby.

"Dear lord, she's spawned?" House shuddered, then frowned, looking at his watch. "What are you doing here? You were supposed to be out of here an hour ago."

"I had a meeting with Cuddy." She didn't offer any details on what the meeting was for. He'd find out soon enough.

"Trying to win you over to her legions of darkness? No wonder you're sneaking out the back." He frowned, catching her chin with his hand and tipping her face up. "You didn't sleep last night, did you?"

"Not well." There was no point in lying about it. The question was, did she play it off as pregnancy hormones or did she admit that she'd been three seconds away from a nervous breakdown all night wondering what he'd told his mother?

"I told my mom," he said abruptly, saving her from having to make the decision. "About the baby, that is. I figured you were wondering."

"Yeah, she, ah, found me in my office," Cameron admitted, feeling like an awkward high schooler all over again. "We're going to dinner."

"She found you? Damn, she's quick," he grumbled grudgingly. "I figured that detour past the men's bathroom would hold her off a little longer."

"Why did you try to send her to the men's bathroom?"

He looked at her like she was an idiot. "Because I figured it would be smarter to track you down and warn you instead of letting her ambush you."

"You couldn't send a text?" she asked dryly. Then the rest of what he'd said caught up with her. "Wait, you were looking for me? How'd you know I'd be down here?"

"I have little birdies everywhere. Mwah ha ha ha…"

"Seriously? You have people spying on me?" She didn't know if that was infuriating or adorable. Then another reason for him tracking her down before his mother did hit her like a ton of bricks. "Wait. Do you not _want_ me to go out with your mother? Is that why you took the time to track me down?"

"What? No," he said, looking at her with hurt disbelief. "Why would you think that?"

"It's just, last time…" She trailed off, knowing he'd remember thanking her for not joining him when his parents came to town. She could tell from the look on his face that he knew exactly what she was talking about.

"That was different," House grumbled, looking painfully uncomfortable. "My dad was here. I didn't…" He sighed, slumping against the wall, the armor of sarcasm he usually wrapped himself up in dropping away in a rare moment of vulnerability. "I didn't want him to hurt you," he admitted softly. "And I didn't want him to say something that would ruin everything. He was good at that.

"Besides, things are different now. You're my daughter's mother. And you're less squishy than you used to be." That startled a laugh out of her, which made him smile. "If you two hang out together, that means you can do that thing that women do where you talk about presents and parties and whatever the hell it is you talk about without making me the middleman."

"Oh, I see now," Cameron said knowingly, fighting off the warmth that wanted to flow up from her insides. "You just don't want to be inconvenienced."

"Damn right."

The two of them stood there smiling at each other for long moments. The mood slowly started to shift. Cameron was suddenly, painfully aware that they were alone, the sounds of the hospital a familiar but distant backdrop. Almost involuntarily she took a step forward, so she was close enough that her pregnant belly pressed lightly against his shirt and she could feel his breath on her cheeks.

She'd done this before, she remembered. The day she kissed him in his office. And just like then, his eyes had darkened with wary arousal, the arm that wasn't holding his cane reaching up to lightly brush against her waist. Unlike then, however, this time he was the one to pull her in, the one who dropped his head down so his lips could brush gently against hers.

They stood there for a moment after the kiss that was barely a kiss, hearts pounding, faces so close she could still feel the warmth radiating off his skin. Eyes wide open. He was the one to pull back, dropping his arm from her waist and stepping back.

"Well. Have fun," he said gruffly, looking at her for one more long moment before turning around and walking away. As usual, she was the one left staring after him, fingers pressed to her lips, breathing shakily and wondering what the hell just happened.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating guys. School has been kicking my butt. Now that things are starting to lighten up, hopefully the next chapter will come a little faster! In the meantime, thanks SO MUCH for taking the time to read and review. You guys are the best!**

 **House**

Dear God. Gaping at the mountains of pink lace thrown across his living room in disbelief, House decided he must have died. Clearly, this was what Hell looked like.

"Greg!" His mom beamed up at him over the top of the frilly pink dress she held in her hands. "I thought you weren't coming home tonight."

"Yeah, well, if I'd known what I was coming home to I'd have slept in my office," he grumbled, poking his way across the living room and using his cane to spear a pile of shopping bags off his chair. "What the hell happened here?"

"Your mom took me shopping." Cameron grinned cheerfully, holding up a pair of stuffed pink bunnies. "I figured we could put this one on your bed. That way you and the baby could each have a lovey."

House glowered at her, but couldn't help the quick quirk of his mouth when she waggled the rabbit at him. They shared a look that said as clear as day that his mom had gone overboard, and they both knew it. The difference was, while he was more than happy to say something about it (and return half this crap so it'd stop clogging up his living room) she was clearly thrilled.

He suddenly realized he had no idea how her parents had reacted when she'd told them about the baby. He'd have to ask her about it later. For now though, it was nice to sit there and share the moment with her, like they were any other couple smiling at an over-indulgent grandmother.

Almost as nice as it had been to kiss her earlier. Unconsciously reaching up to rub his fingers across his lips, he watched her eyes darken before she looked away and knew both of them were remembering what had happened.

He wondered if they'd talk about it this time, or if it would just be one more moment between him and Cameron he'd have to pretend to forget.

He wasn't sure what had possessed him to do what he did. Not being able to keep his hands off Cameron had been what got them into this mess in the first place. It would just make a hash out of what was already a difficult situation. That didn't stop the dark corners of his mind from rapidly flipping through and discarding a thousand scenarios in which he got rid of his mom so he could do it again.

Watching her there on his couch, one leg tucked underneath her while she laughed with his mother, he felt strangely…content. With a jolt, he realized he liked seeing her here, in his house, talking and laughing with his mother like she belonged. He, who made a point of not sharing his living space with anyone, ever, was trying to figure out how he could keep her under his roof a little longer. Normally, that kind of thinking would have him breaking out in a cold sweat and showing her the door. The fact that he didn't want to was…concerning.

His thoughts were interrupted by a sharp clap of thunder from outside, followed almost immediately by the sound of rain beating against the side of the house. A few seconds later, the lights went out.

"Shit," he grumbled, fumbling around for his cane so he could get the flashlights from the kitchen. Cameron beat him to it, ducking around the room with an ease born of familiarity to open the drawer and pull three of them out. Flicking one on, she pointed it at him and grinned.

"Get your hands above your head," she said in her best old school cop voice, making his mom laugh with delight.

"Oh goodness, you sound just like Dirty Harry."

"I love that movie." Cameron winked at her, passing her a flashlight before ducking around the couch to offer one to House. "My brother and I used to watch it constantly."

"Funny, I pictured you as more of the Disney princess type. What?" House asked innocently when Cameron turned and glared at him. "All I'm saying is, I could totally see you all spinning and sparkley. Admit it," he added when he saw the gleam in her eye. "You dressed up as Cinderella at least once, didn't you?"

"Oh, maybe. Once or twice. Then I found out it was more fun being Wonder Woman." Cameron smiled, then stretched with a yawn. "And on that note, I should get going." She looked out the window and sighed. "If I wait too much longer, the roads are going to be flooded and I'll never get back to Wilson's."

"They're flooded now," he said gruffly, immediately rejecting the idea of her driving home before his mother had a chance to. "You're not driving in this. Text Wilson, tell him you're staying here."

Her forehead wrinkled up the way it did when she was trying to think of a reason to argue with him. House knew she wouldn't find one. The roads would be clear and beautiful in the morning, but in the meantime driving in these flash rains was a one way ticket to the emergency room. Which Cameron had worked there long enough to know.

Sure enough, she nodded. "You're right. Thanks." Looking around the living room, her face lit up with a grin. "It's been years since I crashed on your couch. Hope it's still as comfy as I remember."

House stared at her blankly, trying to figure out what the hell she was talking about, then barked out a short laugh. Right. The night he'd been withdrawing, and he'd called his whole team over to his house to work on their diagnosis because he couldn't get out of the bathroom. Chase and Foreman had gone back to the hospital to be with their patient. He'd forgotten Cameron had stayed-supposedly because she was too tired to drive back, but he knew she'd done it so she could be there in case he needed someone.

She'd been gone when he'd dragged himself out of bed the next morning. At the time, he'd thought it was pathetic. Sweet, but pathetic. Looking back, he realized he really should have thanked her for that.

Looking at the couch, House weighed his options. He tried to remember that he didn't have a chivalrous bone in his body. He tried to remember that his leg was going to ache like a bastard if he slept out here, and that Cameron had always managed to sleep anywhere. It didn't work.

"You're not sleeping out here. With that stomach, gravity would pull you overboard, and you'd spend the whole night stuck on the floor like a turtle. Take the bed." He nodded back toward his bedroom. "Mom did my laundry this morning, so you've actually got clean sheets. I'll sleep out here."

"I can't take your bed," she said with a laugh and a roll of her eyes. "You'd never be able to get up tomorrow."

"Well, then you can drag me out the door," he said dryly. "Although we're not working tomorrow, which means if you wake me up I'll have to assume you're propositioning me for sex."

He remembered two seconds too late that his mother was sitting there right next to him. He reminded himself she'd certainly heard him say worse, but that didn't stop a hot blush from creeping up the back of his neck when she arched her eyebrows and said, "Now that you two have that worked out, I'm headed to bed."

Tucking the dress in her hands back into a bag by Cameron's feet, she bent down and gave Cameron a hug. "Thank you for a lovely evening, my dear. I'll see you in the morning." Turning around, she kissed him on the cheek. "Goodnight Greg."

When she was gone, he and Cameron stood staring awkwardly at each other.

"I can…"

"We should…"

They both paused, then laughed. Cameron waved her hand. "You first."

"I was going to say, we should probably call it a night. I need my beauty sleep, and mom gets up early." House rolled his eyes. "Like, really early. Disgustingly early."

"Considering you think anything before ten is disgustingly early, I'm not worried." Cameron grinned, reaching down to pack the rest of the loose items in the bags by her feet. "And yes, I'll make sure these are out of the way so you don't fall on your face in the middle of the night."

He grunted, pushing to his feet and hobbling to his bedroom for his pajama pants and the spare blanket he always kept stuffed in a corner. Unsurprisingly, it was clean, folded and neatly lying on the foot of his bed. Scooping it up, he paused and stared at his bed, picturing Cameron tucked up in it. Before he could talk himself out of it, he pulled down the covers and gave the pillows a quick fluff. Just to make sure they weren't getting flat, he assured himself. Not because he was concerned about Cameron being comfortable.

"There's an extra toothbrush in the medicine cabinet," he grumbled when he came back out to the living room, tossing his pills on the coffee table and the blanket on the couch. "I tossed a t-shirt on the bed if you want it. Sleep naked if you don't, doesn't matter to me. Need anything else, find it yourself. I seem to remember you were pretty good at snooping around."

"Just like you taught me," she shot back. Both of them knew it wasn't an insult. "Anyway, good night."

"Night." He slouched down on the couch, pulling the blanket over his head when she flicked off the light.

Four hours later, he was still tossing and turning, and had just about reached the point of giving up on going to sleep when soft footsteps padded down his hall. He froze, ears straining in the darkness to pick up the unfamiliar sound. A minute later the fridge opened, then closed. He heard the sound of someone pouring a drink, then the fridge opened and closed again.

A few seconds later, he felt a light shove on his shoulder.

"I know you're not sleeping, so don't even try to fake it." Hands pulled the blanket off of his head, and the sight in front of him left him feeling like he'd been kicked in the stomach. Cameron had taken him up on his offer of a t-shirt, stretched snugly over her pregnant stomach and riding high on legs that were obviously bare underneath. Her blonde hair hung loose and curly over her shoulders. She looked like she'd just rolled out of bed.

Out of his bed.

"This is ridiculous," she told him. "Neither one of us is getting any sleep with you tossing and turning out here." She hesitated, then said, "Since you're obviously stuck on being a gentleman for god knows what reason, that bed is plenty big enough for the two of us. You stay on your side, I'll stay on mine, and maybe both of us will manage to get some sleep tonight."

He wanted to argue with her, but he was exhausted, and the idea of getting to stretch out in his own bed was too tempting to resist. They were both tired, it's not like anything was going to happen, right? Mutely, he followed her down the hall, flopping on the bed and smiling when she fussed with the pillows and blankets before settling in. It felt…astonishingly normal, even nice, to share a bed with someone. He hadn't slept with someone, just slept, since Stacy, and it didn't take long for the soft puffs of her breathing to lull him into a comfortable sleep.

When he woke up again a few hours later to find her spooned up against him, his shirt riding high and his hand resting against the warm expanse of her pregnant stomach, he wasn't surprised. He'd always known Cameron was a born snuggler. She was just squishy that way.

What did surprise him was how much he wanted to have her there, to press his lips against the warm curve of her neck and pull up his shirt and remember everything he'd forgotten about the night that led them both here. It would have been a bad idea-she was going to freak out enough if she woke up like that, after all her talk about each of them staying on their own side of the bed.

He started to slide his arm back, intending to roll over and go start some coffee before she woke up. Then he felt a soft bump against his palm. Intrigued, he slipped his hand a few inches to the left, pushing gently against her stomach and grinning when he felt the baby move, kicking back against his palm. Curious, he moved his hand around her stomach to see if he could get the baby to follow him.

"Pretty sure that's not a bouncy toy," grumbled Cameron without moving. "She does plenty of kicking without you encouraging her." But she didn't push his hand away from where it rested on what he was pretty sure, after a little bit of probing, was actually the baby's head. He felt her sigh, and was surprised when her next words were, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"For everything. I screwed up with you," she said softly, shifting slightly so she could snuggle against him. "You were right, that night in the restaurant, when you said I was trying to get you to be someone you weren't. I was young, and I had all these romantic dreams. I wanted you to be this romantic guy underneath, so I could justify to everyone else why I was so hung up on you. But the truth is, that wasn't the guy I fell for at all." She laughed softly, reaching down and wrapping her fingers around his so they were joined overtop of the baby they'd made. "I had a great time, that night we went to see Gravedigger," she admitted. "I should have said yes to paintball. Then maybe…"

Her voice trailed off, but he heard what she didn't say. Then maybe they wouldn't be here, now. Maybe they would have gone out again. Maybe she wouldn't have married Chase. Maybe things wouldn't be all screwed up.

"It wouldn't have mattered." Somehow, here in the dim light of morning, the confession came easily to him when he would have struggled any other time. "You were right when you said I was too screwed up to love anybody. I was never going to be that guy. Sooner or later, you would have walked anyway."

"You don't know that."

"Yeah," he said softly, bending his head down so he could press his lips into her hair while he felt the truth of his next words right down to his bones. "I do."

She rolled over onto her back, tipping her head to the side so she could see his face without letting go of his hand. "House…" She paused, and he figured for sure she was going to push him away. He wanted her to. Needed her to, because right now, with her wrapped in his arms and their daughter kicking merrily under his hand, he wasn't sure he could do it. And he needed to do it.

Then Cameron reached up and ran her hand along the side of his cheek, pulling him closer, and he gave up thinking about what he should do. He wanted to kiss Cameron, had wanted to do it since the first time she sat in his office all those years ago. Wanting to kiss her had been an ache in his gut since the day she'd pulled him in when she thought he was dying, and it had only gotten worse since that night in the snow. So when her eyes floated closed and she tipped her chin up, he didn't think about anything other than how nice it was to feel her lips under his.

She was the one who broke the kiss, her hand still pressed against his skin, and the smile on her face was dreamy when she opened her eyes and blinked up at him.

"So," she said lightly, "now that I'm up, you got any coffee?"


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hello everyone! Happy Holidays! I'm sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. But I can say it. I'm finally a nurse! Woohoo! No more school! (For the next 6 months, at least.) Anyway, thanks for still being here!**

Cameron

What did she just do?

Splashing cold water on her face, Cameron stared at her pale, wide-eyed reflection in House's bathroom mirror. Dear God. She'd kissed House. She'd slept with him (slept being the operative word), she'd snuggled with him, she'd spilled her guts…and then she'd kissed him.

'He kissed back' the evil little devil on her shoulder whispered. 'Of course he kissed back!' snapped the devil on the other side. (She was pretty sure she was wayyyy past angels at this point.) 'You were practically naked in his bed. It's a miracle that's ALL you did!'

"Shut up," Cameron crabbed, deliberately drying her hands on the soft green towels. No sense ignoring the truth. Thank god his mom had called out when she did, sending the two of them flying apart and over the edge of the bed like a pair of teenagers caught making out. The way her stomach had flipped topsy turvy when he pulled her up against him told her she wouldn't exactly have been fighting him off.

'And that, my dear, is what got you into trouble in the first place,' she thought wryly. It wasn't exactly a pleasant discovery to find out she was willing to get naked with House again at a moment's notice. Then again, physical attraction had never been their problem. Or at least, it wasn't hers. It was everything else. The talking. The sharing. The not being an ass.

'All the things he did this morning,' that damned little devil whispered.

'No he didn't,' she whispered back. 'He let me ramble on, but he didn't tell me anything. Not about how he felt, not about what was going to happen. Nothing."

It wasn't entirely true, but she really needed to hang on to that or she was going to end up doing something unfathomably stupid. Like kissing him again, and forgetting she was trying to get over House and move on. They had to live in the same city, work together in the same hospital and, since he wasn't showing any signs of being willing to walk away and just let her be miserably alone in peace, parent the same child. That was going to be hard enough without anything extra tossed into the mix.

She would walk into the kitchen, she decided, politely thank him for letting her spend the night, gather up her things and go while she still had a little bit of dignity intact. That resolution lasted as long as it took to turn the corner, walk into the kitchen…and sigh at the cheery, domestic scene that sent her heart flip flopping and any hope of saving herself flying out the window.

Blythe was standing at the counter flipping pancakes on a griddle Cameron was pretty certain House didn't own. There was a half-eaten stack of pancakes next to a cup of coffee that was probably hers. House was sitting there in his pajama pants, still barefoot and wearing the soft white shirt he'd worn to bed the night before, sipping coffee and reading a medical journal. The morning paper sat next to a fresh stack of pancakes and a cup of coffee at the third chair at the table, which she presumed was intended to be for her.

Her spot at the House family breakfast table. There was a time when this moment would have been…everything. And it was so far out of reach she hadn't even dreamed about it. Slipping mutely into her seat, she picked up the cup, resolving not to say a word about caffeine during pregnancy…and smiled when she breathed in peppermint tea.

"Mom tells me it's god's gift for morning sickness," said House without looking up. "I don't know that that's ever been proven, but I figured it beat the hell out of cleaning puke off the floor."

Aaaaand there was the House she knew and loved. She laughed as his mom reached out to swat him with the spatula, warmed to the core at the feeling of being included-and that he'd taken the time to consider her stomach.

"So," Blythe said, plopping a plate with the rest of the pancakes in the middle of the table and settling into her seat. "What are you kids up to today?"

"I was thinking shenanigans with a side of malarkey. Oh wait, you meant me?" House smirked.

"That's probably very accurate," said Blythe drily, smiling and rolling her eyes before turning to Cameron. "How about you dear? Do you have plans for the day?"

Cameron hesitated, then mentally shrugged. House was going to find out sooner or later anyway. "I need to do some apartment hunting now that I've finally got a day off."

"So you've decided you're staying? That's wonderful!" Blythe's face lit up. Cameron could already see the grandmotherly wheels turning. "I know it's selfish, but when Greg told me you were planning on leaving after the baby was born…well. Not that I wouldn't take advantage of your hospitality and fly out as often as possible, but it will be lovely to have you so close. Won't it Greg?" she said, with a pointed look in House's direction.

House, who still hadn't looked up from his journal, murmured an absent, "Mmm hmmm."

Cameron frowned, stung by his lack of interest. Not that she'd been expecting a party or anything-this WAS House they were talking about-but something a little…MORE…would have been nice. Especially after that morning. Then again, maybe that was it. It was always one step forward, two steps back with House. He probably freaked, and now he was backpedaling.

Again.

Damnit.

With an angry sigh, Cameron stuffed a bite of pancake in her mouth and reached for the paper. Might as well take a look at the classifieds while she was here. She'd finish eating-these pancakes were AMAZING-then get out of his hair. He could have his crisis of conscience without her, thank you very much.

She froze when she flipped open to the real estate section.

"I like the one on Maple. The rent's reasonable, and you'd be closer to the hospital but far enough away that the freaks won't be knocking on your door all night long," House said without looking up. "I also hear they give a discount to hospital employees. The owner's waiting for your call to set up a tour. The one over on 3rd isn't too bad either. I hear the landlord on 5th is a real asshole about fixing things."

Cameron's eyes teared up. Someone had carefully gone through the real estate section, circling or rejecting open rentals. A quick skim told her that the three that he'd circled were ones she'd have chosen herself, all in good neighborhoods close to the hospital where she'd be comfortable living with a baby.

And the one on Maple had a park in the backyard.

"House…" Her voice trailed off. He shrugged, looking embarrassed and uncomfortable.

"Heard you told Cuddy you were going to stay." He still hadn't looked at her. "Figured, you being the enterprising Girl Scout you are, that you'd be looking for apartments today."

The damn hospital grapevine moved faster than a party line. She couldn't be mad though. It had been a sweet gesture. Before she could think too hard about it, she reached over and gave him a quick, one handed squeeze around the shoulders.

"Thank you."

"Yeah, well, just don't think I'm going to be helping you pick out furniture. That's what she's for," he said, nodding his head toward Blythe. "This is as far as I go."

Rolling her eyes, Cameron tucked back into her breakfast. She couldn't wait to get on the phone.

Standing in the kitchen of her brand new apartment two hours later, she clutched her keys and danced around like a maniac. She hadn't even bothered checking out any of the other apartments. The one on Maple had turned out to be perfect.

Right behind the apartment complex was a big park, with jogging trails wide enough for a jogging stroller and a giant playground. She could see families walking around from her side window, trying to convince their kids to stay out of the mud from last night's storm.

The apartment itself was ground level, with big glass doors leading out to a fenced in balcony that had room for a splash pool, a small table and a couple of chairs. The inside was spacious, with high ceilings, thick carpeting, three bedrooms and, best of all, a giant whirlpool tub in one of the two bathrooms. There was plenty of room in the open floor plan for a dining room table, built in bookcases, a couch and television and a play area set up for the baby when she started crawling around. And the master bedroom was big enough she'd have room to set up her treadmill so little fingers wouldn't get caught in it.

It felt like it had been made for her. Looking around, she started cataloging what she would need. Most of her furniture and appliances from her old place had come with the apartment. She'd let Chase buy her out, both on the house they'd shared and all their belongings, and she hadn't wanted to bother buying new. While some of that money was going to have to see her through her maternity leave, she had more than enough tucked away to pick up some essentials.

Conveniently, she also had the rest of the day off. And there was a furniture store right down the street that was always more than happy to deliver. Closing the door and locking it behind her, Cameron cheerfully clipped (okay, more like waddled) down the sidewalk, prepared to do some serious shopping.


	13. Chapter 13

House

"Remind me why I have to be here again?" House grumbled, looking around the baby store with distaste. "I thought you and Cameron already did the girly shopping thing."

"That was before I found out that she was moving halfway across the country and didn't have a blessed thing for the baby except for a bassinet and a co-sleeper," his mom scolded, slapping him on the arm before turning back to the shelves. "That was a fun run. This is a practical one."

"Then shouldn't Cameron be here?" he whined.

"You're here to help me pick out things Cameron's going to like. And I figured since you two will be the ones babyproofing the apartment for her, you should probably come along so you know how everything works," his mom said absently. She picked up one of those video baby monitors that streamed directly to your phone, looking at the price tag in disbelief. "Good grief. Look at all this. It's a wonder either of you survived your childhood."

Wilson just shook his head. "I don't even know what half of this stuff _is._ "

"You and me both," House said, sighing in resignation when his mom headed for the baby swings. It was going to be a long day.

He hated when he was right. Cameron's eyes got huge when the three of them showed up, boxes and bags in tow. With Wilson's help, he spent the next few hours building the crib, sticking plugs in sockets, baby-proofing counter corners, and hauling a dresser and changing table to the corner of Cameron's second bedroom. Meanwhile, the women got to chit chat without breaking a sweat while they folded teeny tiny little clothes and hung decorations on the wall.

His mom had agonized for almost an hour between the owls and the butterflies and Winnie the Pooh until House talked her into a blue and purple galaxy set he knew Cameron would like. It came with all sorts of crap, including a solar system rug for the floor and little glow in the dark stars for the ceiling, and as much as he bitched about having to haul it all in, even he had to admit it was pretty damn cute by the time it was done.

The Chinese food Cameron bought them all as a thank you was pretty nice too.

Wilson headed out right after dinner, claiming he had some reading to catch up on. House gritted his teeth when Wilson bussed a quick kiss across Cameron's cheek before letting himself out. He still wasn't completely comfortable with how comfortable Wilson and Cameron were together. Since his mom popped her plate in the sink and went back to fiddle in the baby's room just a few minutes later, leaving he and Cameron at the table alone together for the first time since she'd spent the night at his house the week before, he figured he could get over it.

"This was really nice of you guys, thank you." Cameron's smile was just a little awkward, like she too realized this was the first time they'd been alone together since the morning she woke up in his bed.

"You said that already." House waved the compliment away with his fork. "Kid needed a place to sleep." Truth was, he felt a little bad that Wilson had done most of the heavy lifting. Not too bad-he was holding on to his status as a cripple with both hands, damn it. But a little.

"Well, thank you anyway. I appreciate it." Cameron poked at her food with her fork, then sucked in her breath, her left hand reaching around her abdomen to rest right below her ribs.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Just a twinge." Cameron smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. House frowned.

"How long have you been having pain?"

"Just the past little bit. I figured if I sat down, it would go away." Cameron set her fork down to squeeze her forehead. "And my head is killing me. Maybe I'm coming down with something."

"And maybe you're an idiot." House scowled, pushed back from the table. "When was the last time you checked your blood pressure?"

"Yesterday. Maybe. Day before?" Cameron frowned. "It's been fine as long as I've been taking my medicine."

"Where's your stuff?"

Cameron pointed mutely to an end table drawer in the living room. House hobbled over and pulled out the electronic cuff, already knowing what he was going to see. Sure enough, Cameron's BP was up in the stratosphere.

"Heigh ho, heigh ho, it's down the hatch with some labetalol, then off to the ED you go. And don't even think about just going in and laying back down," House warned her before she could even open her mouth. "I'll just call Wilson to pick you up and throw you into the back of the car."

Her mouth quirked into a quick smile, but she didn't waste any time grabbing some shoes and a coat and letting him lead her out the door-or arguing when she threw up all over her doorstep and he decided to call an ambulance instead.

Half of his doctor brain told him she was probably going to be fine. They would run some magnesium, get her blood pressure back down. She was what, thirty, thirty one weeks along? Worst case scenario, baby would be spending some time in the NICU. It wasn't ideal-he'd have liked another six weeks, at least-but although you would have had to break off his arm and beat him with it to get him to admit it, their facility was excellent and the neonatal docs were top notch. And since Chase insisted on double dipping every chance he got, at least one member of his team was going to be on hand to keep an eye on things when he couldn't.

The other half of his brain was quickly ticking through everything that could possibly go wrong in this scenario, up to and including losing both Cameron and the baby, if they didn't get the situation under control. The ambulance wasn't going to have hydralazine or magnesium on board, and he'd maxed out her labetalol at home. If things started slipping downhill, they were pretty much screwed.

When she seized in the ambulance, and he grabbed the LMA from the incompetent paramedic who couldn't get it in when she lapsed into unconsciousness, he'd never been so sorry to be right in his life. Fortunately, the idiot had had the foresight to call ahead, and the OB team and NICU were waiting for them when they arrived on the floor.

"What happened?" asked Dr. Lee, flicking his penlight into Cameron's eyes while his minions quickly ran an IV and hung the medications he'd have killed for on the ride over.

"Headache and right upper quadrant pain over dinner. Blood pressure 220/110 in the ambulance," said House gruffly, hobbling along beside the gurney. "Tonic clonic seizure en route, lasted for about a minute, then became unresponsive."

"Alright." They had gotten to Cameron's room at this point, and a quick look at the fetal monitor told House there was no way they were going to ride this out. Cameron still wasn't responding to meds, and baby's heart rate had dropped well below what could be considered a safe baseline.

"Andrea, call the OR team. We need to get this baby out of there. I assume you're coming back to the OR with her?" At House's mute nod, Dr. Lee turned to one of the other nurses. "Jane, get Dad a set of scrubs, and grab Dr. Cameron's consent forms out of her files. I'm going to scrub up, and I'll see you in there." With a quick clap on the shoulder, he left the room, leaving the nursing staff staring at him for a moment in disbelief.

"Alright Dr. House, if you come with me, I've got some paperwork for you to sign, then you can get changed." Jane, the tiny brunette nurse House didn't recognize (which wasn't surprising, since the only time he hung out on maternity was when his TV wasn't working and he wanted to watch General Hospital in the doctor's lounge), was the first to get over the shock of realizing that he and Cameron had done the wild thing. "Dr. Lee is very good," she said softly, giving him a warm, reassuring smile that he was sure worked wonders on nervous fathers that didn't have a medical degree. "She's in good hands, and it'll be over before you know it."

"Not fast enough," he grumbled, surprised when she reached over and gave the hand not holding his cane a quick squeeze. Then she grabbed a clipboard off the desk and passed it over to him, leaving him to wade through paperwork hell while she ran back and got him a pair of paper scrubs that would keep the grime off him while they popped the baby out.

He'd just finished signing the last consent when his mom and Wilson showed up on the floor.

"How is she?" Wilson asked, brow furrowed in concern.

"I called James before I left," said his mom, intercepting the obvious question of what Wilson was doing there. "I thought you and Cameron could use him."

"Cameron's unconscious and baby's circling the drain," said House roughly. "She seized on the way over here. They're going to section her as soon as the OR team gets off their ass and gets things moving."

The last was said just as Jane came walking up to him holding a pair of surgical scrubs. He waited for a nasty retort, either from her or one of the nurses behind him, but all he got was a sympathetic smile.

"We didn't have any of the paper ones, but I figure you probably know what to do with these." She nodded her head toward the doctor's locker room. "Normally we wouldn't encourage it, but given the circumstances…"

House looked at his mom and Wilson and waggled his eyebrows. "See you on the other side." Then he headed for the locker room, leaving Wilson and his mom to find their own way to the waiting room and, finally, had a moment with his own thoughts. When he put any serious thought into what was about to happen, the only two options were a grim sort of acceptance or blinding fear.

He wasn't the type of man who got to ride off into the sunset. He knew that, had known it since he was a kid trying to figure out why his father was such a cold blooded bastard. He'd lost Stacy. He'd lost Cuddy. He'd lost Lydia. He'd lost Cameron…over and over and over again.

Pulling the surgical scrubs over his head and feeling the familiar soft blue fabric against his skin, he realized that he'd never expected to keep her, or his daughter. And no matter how hard he tried, what he did right, what he did wrong, he still wasn't going to be able to keep them. This was all some big cosmic joke, and this moment, with Cameron teetering on a knife edge and his daughter's life in danger, this was the universe telling him he'd been an idiot for thinking he deserved them.

Taking a deep breath, House reached out and grabbed his cane. He'd go into that operating room because he needed to go into that operating room, if for no other reason than to reassure himself that nobody screwed up. Then, when it all went to hell like it was bound to, he could head up to his office, pull out the bottle of carefully stashed scotch that he'd stuck in there, and spend the rest of the evening reminding himself that men like him didn't get happily ever after.


	14. Chapter 14

Cameron

It was the beeping IV that brought her back. Her doctors and colleagues would argue that it was a combination of events, from her blood pressure dropping and her brain's electrical activity returning to normal to some kind of sixth sense that the crisis was over and it was time to come back.

Cameron knew better. It was that goddamned IV, bleeping in her ear like an old school alarm clock that just wouldn't shut the hell up.

She kept her eyes firmly shut for a minute, listening to the soft squeak of the nurse's shoes coming in to fiddle with the machine, then the blessed silence before they padded out of the room. There was only the soft whirring of the motor now, and the gentle woosh of oxygen against her skin. That, and…tapping?

"She's gone. You can come out now."

Cracking an eye open, Cameron grinned at the owner of the sarcastic words-the rail thin man in wrinkled surgical scrubs leaning back in the chair next to her bed, OR booties still on his feet, cane beating a steady staccato on the floor next to her.

"Knew you were faking." The words were smug, but there was a heavy exhaustion behind them that she didn't often hear from him. His skin was pale, the wrinkles around his eyes more pronounced. His mouth was grim.

Slowly, her anesthesia fogged mind started to kick into gear. One hand floated automatically to her abdomen, which was still round but no longer felt like she'd swallowed a watermelon.

"The baby?" she asked, afraid to hear the answer.

"Down in the NICU. I sent Chase and Wilson along to keep an eye on things," he said gruffly.

"I'm surprised you aren't down there yourself, making sure no one screws up." She smiled, resting her cheek back against the pillow. Her daughter was okay. If she wasn't, House would never have been sitting by her bedside. He'd have been down in the NICU, hounding the neonatology team and, inevitably, shoving everyone out of the way and doing it himself. It was just who he was. "What happened?"

"Eclampsia. Doctors took the baby, weren't sure you were going to make it off the table." His matter of fact voice didn't match the quick flash of…something.

"Glad to keep OB's record intact." Rolling over onto her side, she winced. "Ow."

"Happens when they slit you open like a filet." Reaching out, House poured a half cup of water and passed it over to her. "Here. Get a drink before Bromhilda comes back and finds out you're awake."

"Thanks." Taking a couple small sips, Cameron made a face and set the cup back on the table. "Our water is disgusting."

"Water? Is that what it is?" House eyed it closely. "That much crap in it, I figured it had to be somebody's science project. I was giving it to you to see if you'd grow tentacles."

"Yeah, well, sorry to disappoint." She grinned when House reached into the plastic bag by his feet and handed her a bottled water. "Much better." Taking a long drink of something cold and wet that didn't taste like slime, she settled back onto her pillows with a sigh. "How big was she?"

"She? Oh, gator baby? What?" he asked, offended when she glared at him. "She was green and slimey, coming in at a stunning 4 lbs 3 oz." He paused, then added, more softly, "Does gator baby have a name yet?"

"We never did get to that part, did we?" Cameron laughed, thinking over the past few weeks at PPTH. They'd talked about a lot of things, but somehow, what they were going to name the baby never made the list. "I was thinking about calling her Ashley."

House hissed through his teeth. "Sure, if you want the kid to grow up to be a stripper."

"Jessica?"

"Hooker."

"Jennifer."

"Boring."

Cameron sighed, rubbing her eyes and holding in a grin. She'd known House was going to shoot those down, which was why she'd saved the best for last. "Stephanie. We can call her Stevie, like Steve McQueen."

House paused, mulling it over, then grunted. "Stevie it is. If we're lucky, she'll grow up to be a lesbian."

"Please. That would make your year."

"Ugh." House looked at her, horrified. "It's only kinky when I get to join in. Pretty sure that's illegal in all fifty states."

Rolling her eyes, Cameron grinned. "You're the pervert. I didn't say anything about sex. And admit it, you'd love walking up to Jehovah's Witnesses on the street and introducing her as your bastard lesbian daughter."

"It does have a certain ring to it. Think I can get that on a Christmas ornament?" His wicked grin flashed for a minute, dropping away when Cameron reached out a hand from the bed and squeezed the fingers that were wrapped around his cane.

"Thank you for being here," she said softly. "It means a lot."

Time seemed to stand still for a moment as he flipped his hand over to catch hers, fingers lightly rubbing over her knuckles. Cameron felt her heart pound in her chest- a heart that came to a screeching halt when he carefully disentangled her fingers and set them back on the bed before standing up and walking toward the door.

"House?"

He paused, leaning his shoulder up against the wall and turning to look at her. This time there was no sarcasm, no good natured humor, no sharp intellect to hide the emotions swimming on his face. It was there, plain as day for everyone to see.

Regret.

"You were right," he said softly, looking at her with eyes that were filled with so much turmoil and self loathing that it hurt her heart to look at it.

"I usually am," she joked, in a failed attempt at levity. Sighing, she reached out and pressed the button to sit the head of the bed up. She had a feeling she wanted to be upright for this conversation. "What was I right about?"

"I can't do this." House looked down, spinning his cane through his fingers. "I can't…be what you need me to be. You or Stevie." Looking up, he sighed. "It's going to end in disaster, and someone's going to get hurt. It almost did today."

"Today?" She frowned. "What does today have to do with anything?" Then a light clicked. "You can't seriously be blaming yourself for what happened. There was no way anyone, not even you, could have known today was going to be the day."

"But I should have. I completely missed all the signs, because I was worrying about getting that damn crib put together." He sighed, looking over her head now. "You were right, that I was going to cut and run when things got serious. I wanted to, today. I didn't want to go in that operating room, or down to the nursery, because I didn't want to see what was going to happen. I wanted to curl up in my office with a bottle of scotch and pretend none of this had ever happened." He snorted. "What the hell kind of father does that?"

"The normal kind. The kind that cares about what happens to other people. The kind that's worried about losing them." It was all making a horrible sort of sense now. House had always pushed away anyone that wanted to get close to him, because he was afraid they were going to leave. They'd narrowly averted disaster today, and now that the dust was settled he was freaking out. "You wanted to run away. Of COURSE you did. But you didn't. You're still here. THAT'S what matters."

"But for how long?" He tapped his cane on the floor, his eyes closing so she could no longer tell what he was thinking. It meant whatever he was about to say, he'd already made his mind up, and there was no way she was going to talk him out of it. "What about next time? Or the time after that? You guys are better off without me," he said softly, looking her straight in the eye. "Better to call this off now than later, before anyone gets hurt."

Before anyone gets hurt? Was he serious? Did he honestly think that now that he'd worked so hard to re-insert himself into her life, she was just going to be able to let him go? Suddenly, she wasn't sad, or calm, or worried. She was furious.

"No."

"No?"

"No. That's not how this works, House. You don't get to come rolling in here, say you want to be a dad, take the time to make me BELIEVE you, then walk out on me and our daughter just because things get a little rough. You don't get to DO that."

"Cameron…"

"Shut up." She was on a roll now, years of anger and frustration and heartache finally coming together. "I love you. I know you don't want to hear it, but I love you. I've always loved you. I loved you when you tried to get me to quit, I loved you when you rubbed Stacy in my face, I loved you each and every time you called me pathetic. I loved you the night we made our daughter, and I've loved you every day since. And I need you. And our daughter needs you, and she's going to love you too. You don't get to walk in here and say you want to be a part of that, and then just leave.

"I get that you don't love me," she said angrily, "but you sure as hell feel something, or you wouldn't be standing here right now. You'd be off with Wilson or on your bike or annoying Cuddy or any of the other thousand things you do while Foreman and Chase and Thirteen and Taub do the work so you don't have to deal with real life. This is real life House, and you're a part of it, whether you think you want to be or not. So no. No. Just no."

She paused, sucking in a deep breath, slightly appalled at what had just come out of her mouth. She wasn't surprised when he just looked at her for another long moment, then turned and walked out the door. She'd done the one thing she'd told herself she wasn't going to do, and that was throw herself at House. Again. Push him to be with her. Again. You didn't push House into anything, and she was horribly, horribly afraid she'd just done the one thing that guaranteed he was going to walk away and never look back.

'Well, if he does, he does,' she told herself, reaching out to push the call button. She'd been prepared to raise this baby without him. Just because she'd gotten used to having him around didn't mean she couldn't get un-used to it. Nothing had changed, not really.

God, she needed to hold her baby.

Two hours later she was washed, dressed and sitting in a wheelchair in the NICU, her impossibly tiny daughter curled up against her chest. The little girl was on CPAP to help her breathe and had a million tubes and wires running from her to various machines, monitoring her status and giving her IV nutrition until she was strong enough to try to nurse. For now though, she was content to lie skin to skin against Cameron, with her little feet tucked under her and her butt in the air.

"She's adorable. Clearly didn't get a thing from House's side of the family." She looked up at Chase's smiling face. "If you're lucky, it will stay that way."

"Thanks…I think." Cameron laughed, suddenly, buoyantly happy. No matter what happened with House, her daughter was here, and she was perfect. "And thank you for taking care of her."

"Thanks, but I can only take part of the credit. House was down here riding everyone's ass until we got her stabilized." Chase's face grew serious, and she was surprised when he bent down to give her a hug. "Congratulations, Allison. Motherhood suits you."

"Thanks. Chase…" She paused, not sure what to say. What did you say to your ex-husband when he was taking care of the premature baby you'd had with his boss after sleeping with said boss and not mentioning it when you happened to sleep with your ex-husband? There just wasn't a Dear Abby protocol for that.

Fortunately, Chase read her mind. He'd always been good at that.

"Don't worry so much. You'll get wrinkles." She laughed at that, and he gave her a quick smile. "We were over a long time ago," he said softly. "It just took me too long to figure that out. All I ever wanted was for you to be happy. Preferably while drunk and naked," he added, making her laugh again, "but happy."

"You too," she told him, feeling for the first time some of the closure she hadn't realized she'd been missing from her failed marriage.

"I'm working on it. As a matter of fact," he added, looking over her head, "I'm only here for another hour, then I have to slip out the back door before House sees me. I have a date tonight."

"Oh? Anyone I know?" Astonishingly, it didn't hurt to think about Chase seeing other people. In a lot of ways it was like they'd wound back the clock to the early days, when they were working together and not sleeping together, and she could pick on Chase about the blonde, air-headed bimbos he liked to take out for the night.

"Yes, actually." Chase nodded toward the brown haired nurse bent over an incubator at the far side of the room. Cameron didn't recognize her. "Charlotte just started here. Her family's from Melbourne."

The nurse looked up, caught his eye, and looked away with a shy blush. Cameron grinned. "Brains, looks AND modesty. I don't know Chase. Might have trouble keeping up with that one."

She said it loud enough to be heard, making the tiny nurse blush even harder and Chase reach down and give the tip of her nose an evil twist. "Silence you."

They grinned at each other without shadows for the first time. Cameron was surprised to find that she'd put the DiBala incident behind her. Apparently Wilson was right-it was surprising what you could live with. This was a new beginning, for both of them.


	15. Chapter 15

Wilson

"She's adorable."

Wilson gave the crank on the tiny mobile a twist, sending the planets spinning around while the little girl underneath kicked and gurgled. Leaning up against the crib rail beside him, Cameron grinned. "Yeah, she really is. Takes after her mom," she added with a quirk of the lips that didn't quite hide the anger underneath it.

Wilson couldn't say he blamed her. Right then, he had the overwhelming urge to beat his friend with a stick. He could only imagine how Cameron felt.

Little Stevie House, at a kicking and happy two months old, had been home from the hospital a good three weeks now. While he'd been coming by every couple of days, and House's mom came by almost daily, as far as he knew House himself hadn't laid eyes on his daughter since her discharge from the NICU.

"How do you feel about pasta for dinner?" he asked, deliberately changing the subject and laughing when Cameron's face lit up. "I hear the new Italian place down the street is phenomenal, and that way you wouldn't have to cook."

"That sounds AMAZING," she groaned, slumping over the edge of the crib dramatically when the baby started to fuss. "She hasn't let me grab anything heavier than cereal all day. Nothing with tomato sauce though. Little miss here screamed all night the last time I gave spaghetti a try."

"The joys of breastfeeding," Wilson quipped. "She has to be about ready to go to sleep. You feed her, and I'll run down and grab us something to eat. If you're lucky, she'll nap long enough for you to actually manage to get it while it's hot."

True to form, Stevie zonked out after her nap, and he and Cameron happily tucked into the food at Cameron's kitchen table.

"Thank you so much for stopping by," she said between mouthfuls. "I was going a little stir crazy today." She flashed him a grin. "Definitely nice to have some adult company."

"I can imagine." He didn't realize he was staring until she set her fork down and picked up her napkin.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" She dabbed at her mouth and cheeks, looking at him with eyebrows raised, and he laughed.

"No. I was just thinking that motherhood suits you." It did. She seemed softer, somehow, happier than he'd ever seen her. Even with dark circles of exhaustion under her eyes she was glowing. She'd lost most of the baby weight already, a feat he knew half the hospital hated her for, keeping enough to add curves in places they weren't before. And the way her face lit up when she held Stevie warmed everyone in a ten mile radius.

His best friend was an idiot.

He must have said the last out loud, because the smile fell off her face for a second before she shrugged. "Not like that's news. It's okay, Wilson," she added gently, clearly picking up on the instant guilt he felt at bringing House into the conversation. "I'm not going to melt if you say his name. And starting tomorrow, I'm going to have to start working with him again," she said with a grimace. "He's your best friend, and he IS her father. Signed the paternity papers and everything, remember?"

He remembered. He'd been the one to hand deliver them to House in his office, tossing them down on his desk and bracing for a fight. One that never came. House had wordlessly filled out the information and handed it back to him, pulling on his headphones and obnoxiously blasting the music coming from his computer when Wilson tried to talk to him.

It was driving him nuts. On one hand, he knew House hadn't so much as spoken to Cameron since he'd walked out of her room the day Stevie was born. On the other, he also knew his friend hadn't slept at home a single night while the baby was in the NICU, haunting the hallways outside the nursery windows like a restless ghost and driving the nursing staff nuts poking through her chart until someone would call Foreman or Thirteen to drag him away.

And he'd been so miserable these last few weeks it was a wonder Cuddy hadn't just killed him where he stood.

He had no doubt House knew every move Cameron had made since coming home. Partly because he knew him, and partly because he was pretty sure he'd seen Lucas slide around the corner of the building when he'd pulled in. That man was the single worst private detective he'd ever met, but hiring a detective to follow Cameron around and make sure she was okay was such a classic House move all he could do was sigh.

That didn't, however, mean he didn't think he was an idiot, or that it wasn't high time this stupidity came to an end. And suddenly, blindingly, Wilson knew just how to do it.

If his best friend didn't realize what he was giving up, Wilson was going to show him. A little jealousy was good for the soul. The trick was going to be making HOUSE (and everyone else) think he was making a move on Cameron without making CAMERON think he was making a move on Cameron. Fortunately, the two of them had gotten close enough over the past year that he had plenty of wiggle room.

That night he stayed later than usual, sending Cameron off to bed while he cleaned up the kitchen, tidied the living room and, when Stevie woke, diapering the baby and bouncing her on his shoulder for a few minutes before turning off the light in the nursery and using the nightlights in the hall to take her back to Cameron's room.

Cameron grumbled a bit at being woken up, but seemed happy enough to have him perch on the bed and chat while she fed the baby-and pass the little girl over to him to put back in her crib while she passed back out. Smiling at the soft, warm and unfortunately wide awake bundle in his arm, Wilson snuggled down in the rocking chair, making sure to angle it so the night light cast a clear shadow of the two of them while he enjoyed sitting in the nursery and rocking her until she fell back to sleep.

He'd always wanted children. He didn't delude himself into thinking he was good relationship material, but he'd always thought he'd make a good father. Looking down at the bashful blue eyes staring up at him, feeling the soft, warm weight of the baby in his arms, Wilson's heart ached at what he was probably never going to have.

A beautiful baby, a woman that loved him. Cameron was a good woman, the best, as far as Wilson was concerned. Sure, she had her issues. They all did. But at the end of the day, she was fiercely loyal to the people she loved. She'd loved House for years, putting up with his crap long past the point where most people would have cut and run. And even when she'd finally had enough, she'd been willing to give him another chance when it meant making a family for their little girl.

Wilson was suddenly, blindingly furious. Everything he'd ever wanted was in this little apartment, and his best friend was just throwing it away. For the briefest of moments, he thought about making the charade a reality. He didn't know if he and Cameron would be any good together, but a tiny part of him that he wasn't proud of wanted to find out.

Cameron had never been for him. He'd known that way back when she first started working for House, which was why he'd never put any serious thought into making a move back then. Now though, now things were different.

He'd give his friend one more chance. If House didn't step up to the plate…well. He deliberately pushed the thought, and the suddenly appealing image of spending every night just like this one, out of his mind. He'd cross that bridge when he got there.

He had to admit, he enjoyed settling the baby back into her crib, deliberately walking by the windows to Cameron's room before slipping on padded feet to the couch to lie down. Just like he enjoyed deliberately mussing his hair and unbuttoning and untucking his shirt before he walked out the front door several hours later, doing his best to make it look like he was putting himself back together while he locked Cameron's front door with the key she'd given him.

The next morning, high on adrenaline over giving House the poke he so richly deserved, Wilson rolled out of bed on three hours of sleep to shower and dress, swing by the gourmet coffee shop down the street from Cameron's apartment, and show up to pick up the lady herself for her first day back at work.

"Wilson! What are you doing here?" Cameron's eyes widened, her lips slowly spreading into a smile when she saw the cups in his hand. "Please tell me one of those is for me."

"Here you go." He passed it over, smiling when she stepped back to let him in. "I thought maybe you could use a little moral support on your first day back." Glancing over into the living room, Wilson's smile slipped into a full fledged grin. Stevie was sitting in a baby swing in the middle of the living room, happily rocking back and forth while what Wilson could only assume was the new nanny bustled around the kitchen. The woman looked to be in her late forties, with splashes of grey at her temples and a warm, grandmotherly smile.

"She'll be fine today, Dr. Cameron," the older woman told her, smiling and passing her a paper bag. "I'll bring her by the hospital around noon so she can nurse."

"Thank you Mrs. Richey." Cameron went into the living room to give Stevie a quick kiss goodbye before turning with a sigh toward the front door. "Come on. Let's get out of here before I change my mind and tell Cuddy I need to extend my maternity leave a week or two."

"You know you could have stayed home a little longer if you wanted to," he said gently, willingly taking the muffin she handed him in the hallway and barely holding back a moan of bliss. Forget making a move on Cameron. He was going to marry her nanny. "Cuddy certainly wouldn't have minded."

"I know. But to be honest, I'm anxious to get back. I'm sure I'll change my mind on that by lunchtime," she said drily as they exited the building and headed toward Wilson's car. "But for right now, it'll be good to see patients again. And one of the perks of living nearby and the weather not being absolutely terrible is I can still nurse on my breaks instead of having to pump all day. Which is probably more than you wanted to know," she added with a laugh.

"Hey, I'm a doctor, remember? How's the new nanny working out?"

"Mrs. Richey? I love her so far. Cuddy recommended her. She's a widow with a son in college out in California. I guess she did daycare when he was little, and her references were impeccable. And," she added, holding up the muffin. "She bakes like a dream."

"I see that. I don't suppose there are enough in there that I could steal another one?"

"Absolutely. I think she sent me with the whole batch."

They comfortably munched on muffins and sipped coffee on the way to the hospital, chatting about this and that. If she was nervous about her first day back at work-and potentially seeing House for the first time since Stevie was born-she didn't show it.

Wilson made a mental note to swing by her office at some point that morning in between patients, just to see how she was holding up. They said goodbye at the elevators, with Cameron opting to take the stairs. The quick hug he gave her was instinctual. The reactions of the staff at the front desk to seeing the two of them walking in together was priceless. He knew the hospital grapevine had been flying since Stevie's paternity become a matter of public record, and everyone was watching in morbid fascination to see how it turned out.

The morning passed in relative quiet. He peeked in on Cameron somewhere in the middle of it, relieved to see her smiling instead of the teary mess he'd been half expecting. He was surprised when she knocked on his door right before he left for lunch, with an apologetic expression and a screaming baby in her arms.

"Hey, I need a favor." She flushed, clearly embarrassed. "One of the other doctors needed my office for a consult, and I don't have any place to nurse. Is there any chance…"

"Of course." He stepped back automatically to let her in, wincing as the baby's shrill shrieks kicked up a notch. Closing the door behind him, he grabbed a pillow out of his closet. In a matter of minutes Cameron was settled onto the couch, and they both let out a sigh of relief when Stevie latched on and the office filled with sweet, blessed silence.

"Thank you so much. You're a lifesaver."

"Any time. Really," he added with a smile, trying not to think too hard about how nice-almost comforting-it was to have Cameron nursing his goddaughter in his office. "I'm usually stuck doing paperwork right about now, so my office is almost always empty. You're welcome to come down here whenever."

"It's definitely a whole lot more comfortable than the chair in my office."

"I've seen that chair. I think the MRI table would be a better option." They shared a laugh, then he glanced at the clock. "I was going to run down and get some food. Do you want me to grab you something?"

"That would be great. I meant to run down before she got here, but…well, you know."

"No problem. Any requests?"

She shook her head, looking around. "Crap. I don't have my purse. It's up on my…"

"Don't worry about. It's your first day back, lunch is on me." Stepping out of his office and closing the door behind him, he deliberately avoided the curious looks he was getting from his staff. "Sandra," he called out to his secretary, "I'm going to run downstairs and grab some lunch for myself and Dr. Cameron. Do you mind keeping an ear out for her until I get back?"

He didn't offer any explanations for what she was doing in his office and Sandra, a six time grandmother, didn't ask. She just beamed up at him, no doubt anticipating getting a chance to get her hands on the baby before Cameron left. "Of course Dr. Wilson."

Wilson wasn't in the habit of explaining himself, so he didn't say a word when the cafeteria staff raised their eyebrows at his double entrée and full plate. Not that day, or the day after. Or the one after that. Or the one after that. It didn't take long before Cameron having lunch in his office had become their daily routine, one he quickly found himself looking forward to. Just like he was getting used to picking her up in the morning and driving her into work, and eating dinner at her table and hanging out watching television in the wee hours.

It didn't take long for him to realize that what had started out as a diabolical plan to show his friend what he was missing out on was rapidly becoming the best part of his day. It wasn't really a surprise. Wilson had known he was lonely, and the comfortable domesticity of spending time with Cameron and the baby suited him all the way down to his toes.

What was a surprise was the fact that he didn't have House down his throat about it. He knew House had to know, just like he knew it was driving him crazy. House still swung by his office at the most inconvenient hours possible, but it was always to talk about a case. He didn't ask questions about Cameron, or the baby, but every time he walked through the door Wilson saw his eyes zero in on the boppy pillow he'd bought and left in his office for Cameron. Or the baby toys and teething ring that now sat in a little basket on his bookshelf. Or the imprint on his rug from Stevie's travel baby swing from the night the nanny had to leave early and Cameron had brought the baby down to his office, taking turns keeping her entertained so she could get some work done.

It was eight weeks after Cameron came back to work before House cracked. Cameron had taken the day off to take the baby in for her four month checkup. Stevie was always feverish and fussy after her shots, and Cameron had decided it made more sense to just stay home with her than to leave poor Mrs. Richey to try and settle the poor kid down. It was the first time off she'd taken since coming back, and most of his staff had remarked on her absence at lunch.

He wasn't sure who was more spoiled by Cameron's daily visits-he himself, Stevie, who was inevitably passed around his office for a solid pampering, or his staff, who readily took the excuse to take a break and play with the baby. Regardless, she was missed, to the point where he called to check on her right after lunch because he'd had so many people poke their heads into his office and ask how the checkup had gone.

He winced when he heard Cameron's tired voice and the shrill cries in the background. Apparently she'd started cutting a tooth on top of her vaccines, and Cameron sounded like she was at her wit's end. Four hours later, he was trying to hustle through the last of his paperwork so he could swing by, pick up the promised pizza and give poor Cameron a break.

Naturally, that was the precise moment House decided to come rolling into his office.

"What's going on with you and Cameron?" No preamble, no lead in. From the frustration in House's voice, he'd been holding the question back for a while. Wilson sighed, leaning back in his chair. Two months ago, this would have been precisely the reaction he was looking for. Now…

"That's none of your business." It was simple and blunt, but Wilson didn't have it in him to be anything else.

"You're right." House nodded, plopping in his chair and leaning his chin on his cane. "So what's going on with you and Cameron?"

"Right now, there's a teething baby, a tired mom, and I don't have time to play games with you. I need to finish this up so I can get home and give her a hand."

The words slipped out before he could catch them and both of them froze, reeling from the implications. Wilson knew there was nothing sexual going on between him and Cameron, but somehow his plan to make House jealous had evolved into a comfortable partnership. A routine he was coming to count on. Damn it all, it felt natural and right to say he was going home to her and the baby.

Which meant it was time to draw his line in the sand and see which way his friend was going to go once and for all.

"I didn't realize you were calling Cameron's house home these days." House's voice was carefully absent of his usual sarcasm and Wilson sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"You certainly aren't." House's head jerked back like he'd been slapped. Wilson kept going, the words tumbling out like a runaway freight train. "You were more than happy to leave her on her own to raise that baby, House. In the beginning I thought there might actually be some hope for you, but you cut and run the minute things got rough and haven't looked back since. Life doesn't wait for you to get off your ass, House, and I don't owe you an explanation for anything."

Bundling the paperwork up into a pile, he tucked it in the top of his drawer. No reason he couldn't deal with it tomorrow. "I promised Cameron I'd bring dinner over so she didn't have to cook." Pausing at the door, he looked back over his shoulder. "You know she's not going to wait forever," he said softly, feeling a quick tug of pity at the misery on his face. "Your window's closing House, if it hasn't already. Cameron and Stevie are amazing, and if you don't want them, it's not going to be long before someone comes along that will."

"Someone like you, you mean?"

"Yeah, someone like me." With that Wilson shut off the lights, turned and walked out the door.


	16. Chapter 16

House

"You knew you were going to lose her." The woman sitting on Wilson's desk smirked, leaning back on her hands, blonde hair shining in the shadows.

"Shut up," House snarled irritably.

"Oh, come on. Like you ever had a chance with Cameron anyway." She slid off the desk and walked behind him, wrapping her arms around him to whisper in his ear. "You've always known Wilson was the better man."

He sighed, closing his eyes and leaning back in the chair, flinching when he felt her hair swing against his cheek. "You're right." They sat there for a minute in silence, her breath echoing in his ear. He knew he needed to get up, go back to his own office, finish diagnosing the patient that was there waiting for him, but…

God he was tired.

He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised when Cutthroat Bitch popped up out of the blue a week after the baby-his daughter-had gone home from the hospital. She always did manage to pop in for a visit when he was buried in his own self loathing. It was like she enjoyed it.

"You're a horrible human being House. Just let them both go. Cameron's fine. She's strong, remember? And god knows Wilson is better at the whole dad thing than you are. After all," she added smugly, "Wilson never set his pet loose to see if he could kill it."

True enough. House leaned against his cane, pushing himself to his feet and limping toward Wilson's door. A few of Wilson's nurses were still there, finishing up their charting for the day. No doubt they'd heard everything Wilson had just said, and were quietly sniggering inside. Ah well. He didn't have the energy to snarl back the way he usually did.

Truth be told, he didn't have the energy for much of anything these days. Could have something to do with not sleeping. Or maybe it was the not eating. Or the fact that for the last three months he'd been working the kind of punishing 23 hour days he hadn't put in since his residency, taking on two to three cases at a time on top of his clinic hours, just to make sure he was too busy to think.

He'd even said yes to no fewer than forty consultations with other physicians, something he usually avoided like the plague because the majority of them were too incompetent to do a decent assessment, and the requests were piling up on his desk. Profits were up. The hospital board loved him. Cuddy was worried about him. His team wanted to kill him.

But at least when he did finally collapse on the couch in his office for the few precious hours of sleep he managed to get, he didn't dream. And that was something.

After Stevie had been born, he couldn't close his eyes for more than a minute or two before the nightmares began. They all had varying themes, but they all ended the same way-Cameron and Stevie were gone. Sometimes they disappeared. Sometimes they walked away. Sometimes he was back in that operating room, standing in an ever widening pool of blood holding his dead daughter in his hands, watching Cameron's heart stutter and fail.

He'd thought it would be easier when Stevie went home, because then he wouldn't be able to see her tiny body in its little incubator and wonder if today was going to be the day. He'd asked Lucas to keep an eye on them between cases, something the PI had agreed to do as a personal favor since he was screwing Cuddy these days, and he regularly hacked into health system records to follow up on Stevie's checkups. He knew his mom and Wilson were regular visitors, that Cameron's family had flown in the week Stevie came home, and that the new nanny was practically Mary Freaking Poppins.

They were both doing fine without him.

His mom had stayed with him until about a month after Stevie's discharge. He'd been surprised to find he really liked having her around, now that his dad wasn't in the picture. He'd expected a never ending series of lectures on how he needed to man up and step up.

He deserved them.

To his surprise, she hadn't said a word. Just continued to visit Cameron daily, giving him updates over dinner. When she'd left, she'd hugged him and whispered, "It will all work out." That kind of faith was terrifying. And it was a boost he didn't deserve.

He paused outside his office, but tonight his heart just wasn't in it. Instead he headed for the roof, pulling himself up the stairs with effort and stepping out into the cool, crisp evening. There was snow on the ground, but no wind, which made for an eerie kind of stillness. It was like the whole world had been swaddled in cotton.

Walking to the ledge, House sat down with a groan. His leg was killing him, and not for the first time he thought wistfully of the little bottle of pills hidden in his coat pocket at home. He could have done with a couple of Vicodin, both to blunt the ache in his leg and the one in his chest. Things had been so much easier when viewed through a drug induced haze, and if he was going to hallucinate anyway, why the hell not?

"Because you don't want to be that guy." Cutthroat bitch perched down next to him, looking experimentally over the edge. "Wonder how many bones you'd shatter if you just tumbled over," she mused, leaning back. "You don't mind being a deadbeat dad, but you don't want to go back to being a drug addict. That way, when Stevie grows up and tracks you down and wants to know why the hell you walked out on her mom, you can tell her it was because you were too chicken shit to be a dad and not because you threw her over for a fix."

"Nice. Thanks for that." Leaning his head back against the building, he closed his eyes. He didn't much like the personality analysis his subconscious had just dished up. He'd broken his word. Not that he didn't do that every day of the week, but this time he'd done it to Cameron, and that somehow made it worse. He'd manipulated her into letting him back into her life, had busted his ass to prove he wasn't going to be the kind of worthless son of a bitch that would leave her to raise a kid on her own…and yet, here they were.

He could almost hear his dad's "I told you so" ringing through his head.

"It's not too late you know." Cutthroat bitch nudged his foot, raising her eyebrows when he cracked open his eyes. "You could always go apologize. Tell Cameron about the nightmares. She'd like that one. She still won't get involved with your sorry ass, but maybe she'd at least let you see your kid."

Weekend visitation with Stevie, having to see Cameron when they were picking up and dropping her off. Sitting on opposite ends of the auditorium during school concerts, having to decide which one of them was going to show up for career day. It suddenly sounded incredibly lonely.

Without any conscious volition on his part, House's mind wandered to what could have been, if he hadn't walked out on Cameron that day. He'd be the one rushing home to help Cameron with the fussy baby, waiting until she wasn't looking to pull out the bottle of whiskey and rub some on Stevie's swollen gums. They'd order takeout and collapse on the couch, mindlessly passing the baby back and forth until the Tylenol kicked in and she finally fell asleep.

He had no doubt Cameron, who'd been dragging into work with the hollow eyed exhaustion of a new parent, would be right behind her. He could take her to bed, where she'd fall asleep on his shoulder and he could zonk out himself to the soft sound of her breathing.

It sounded damn near idyllic.

"So do it."

"Sorry?" He looked blankly at Amber, who smirked back at him.

"Have a good time in la la land? I said go do it. Your team can handle anything that happens here. God knows, by this point they'll be happy to see the back of you. Go apologize to Cameron. Pick up one of those stupid little teething things for Stevie on your way over. They're freaking everywhere."

"She'll probably slam the door in my face," he said out loud.

"Maybe. But it's a start. Unless you were planning on staying up here until you develop frostbite," she added, looking at his hands, which were white and starting to shake. "I'm sure Cuddy would fudge your life insurance paperwork to make sure it all went to Cameron, but it would be a hell of a lot easier if you lived long enough to do it yourself."

"You're hilarious." But for the first time in months, House had motivation to do something besides curl up in his office and hide. He could see Cameron, even if it was only for a few seconds. Maybe she'd let him see Stevie. It was something. It was more than he'd had yesterday.

Pushing to his feet , he hobbled down to his office, where all four members of his team were slumped over the conference table, heads cradled on their arms, clearly exhausted. Pushing his head in, House called out, "Foreman, you're in charge. The rest of you, go home, get some sleep. Be back bright and early tomorrow."

Then he walked out, smiling a little when they all began to sputter. It was nice to be able to surprise them every once in a while. Preoccupied with thoughts of what he was going to tell Cameron when he got there, he didn't see Cuddy until he almost ran her over.

"House. I was just coming to see you. My office. Now." She turned, expecting him to follow. He thought about just blowing her off, then shrugged. It would keep a few more minutes, until Cuddy got done yelling at him for whatever she was going to yell at him for. Maybe if he waited a little while, Wilson would go home, and he could do his groveling in private.

"This can't go on."

"What, our secret love affair? I told you Lucas was going to find out sooner or later." Smirking, he settled down in the chair in front of his desk, trying his best not to groan in relief. "Tell pretty boy if he's nice he can hop in for a threesome."

"House." Cuddy looked down at him, just looked, eyes sympathetic. "It's been months. When was the last time you talked to Cameron?"

"Every night in my dreams," he answered snarkily, refusing to think about how true it was. "Usually she's wearing this black leather thing, and she…"

"House."

"What? Don't want to hear about my sex life?" Blinking innocently, he tapped the end of his cane on the floor. "Don't ask."

"You don't HAVE a sex life, which is why I'm asking." Sitting down in the chair next to his, she surprised him by reaching out to squeeze his hand. "Have you talked to Cameron at all since she left the hospital?"

House debated lying, then figured there was no point-Cameron would just rat him out anyway. Damn women always stuck together. Just like he had absolutely no intention of telling her he'd been on his way over Cameron's when she'd shanghaied him in the lobby. So he kept it simple, staring down at his cane and scrupulously refusing to meet her eyes.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Why does everything need a damn reason?" Frustrated by the gentle pokes at a façade that was rapidly filling with cracks, he pushed himself to his feet and paced to the other side of the room. "Maybe I just decided I didn't want to do the dad thing anymore. Not my scene, you know? Kids put a real damper on having the hookers over on the weekends."

"You're full of shit." Slumping back in the chair, Cuddy looked at him in exasperation. House noticed that her eye makeup was smudged, and her hair was falling all over the place instead up in the tidy bun she'd had it in that morning. Either she'd had a long day, or she and Lucas had scored a quickie. He was betting on the former-quickies at the hospital didn't really seem like Cuddy's thing.

"House, you don't sleep, you haven't mooched a meal off Wilson in months, and you're cranking out patients and consultations like you're trying to set a record. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to have you actually WORKING for once," she added dryly, "but I'd really prefer you didn't kill yourself while you're at it. Gives the hospital a bad rep when one of our doctors just keels over. What's going on with you and Cameron?"

He'd meant to tell her to mind her own business. He really did. Instead, what came out was, "I can't stop seeing it."

"Stop seeing what?"

"Cameron, on that damn table, bleeding all over the place. Stevie looking all pathetic and blue. Every damn time I close my eyes, that's all I see." Bleakly, he leaned against the wall. "Hell. It's a miracle they're both alive."

"That's right. It IS a miracle." Her voice was gentle now. "And by being scared instead of accepting the risk of losing someone you love, you're completely missing out on it. Go talk to her."

"Who?"

"Cameron, dumb ass. Go talk to Cameron. Tell her about the flashbacks, the nightmares-I'm a doctor, I know what crappy sleep looks like. I'm guessing they've been going on for months," she added when he arched his eyebrows at her. He hadn't said anything about nightmares. "Cameron loves you. If you tell her what's been going on, she'll understand."

He opened his mouth to argue, then Cuddy went for the kill shot. "Got a text from Wilson a few minutes ago. Stevie's cut her first tooth. She's going to be an early bloomer. If you don't get moving, you're going to miss out."

He froze, looking at her, his brain spinning through the implications. A tooth. He hadn't really thought about those little baby milestones, beyond checking her chart to know she was hitting them. She was smiling now. Laughing. She'd be talking soon.

A tooth. And he'd missed it.

Without another word, he turned and walked out of Cuddy's office, mind cautiously blank. He had no idea what he was going to say to Cameron, but he was going to give it a try. Maybe, if he admitted he'd been an asshole, she wouldn't slam the door in his face and he'd get a chance to tell her the rest.

Maybe she'd just shut the door in his face and be done with it.

He was more nervous now than he'd been the day he first came to her apartment and asked her to stay. God, that had been a million years ago. He was surprised his heart hadn't just rolled out of his mouth and bounced off the floor at her feet, it was pounding so hard.

Mind scrolling through possibilities, House carefully navigated his car down the snowy streets. He crafted his arguments, prepared his explanations, spent a good twenty minutes deciding whether or not he should bring her flowers. Then said screw it and dropped a ridiculous amount of money at the florist.

He was prepared for anything…except the sight of her kissing Wilson through her front window.


	17. Chapter 17

**Cameron**

Clearing his throat, Wilson slowly stepped back, his arms dropping from her hips to hang by his sides, shoulders tensed and hunched up around his ears.

"Well." He coughed uncomfortably. "That was…"

"Awkward?" Cameron asked dryly.

"I was going to go with, 'kind of like kissing my sister', but yes, awkward will do." He grinned at her, shoulders relaxing, and Cameron couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.

She'd known the instant their lips had touched that it wasn't going to happen. There's been no chemistry. No zing. Nothing that made her stomach quiver.

And that was damn disappointing.

"I'm sorry. I just thought…" Sighing, she leaned forward and pressed her head into his shoulder, relaxing when his arms came up to pull her in for a quick hug. Wilson chuckled.

"It's a sad day when I let a pretty woman apologize for kissing me." He pressed a quick, comfortable kiss on the top of her head. "I understand. I wondered too. And now…well, now we know."

"Now we know." Cameron's voice trailed off on a sigh. She'd hoped, really hoped, that there would be something there with Wilson. Or at least, she thought she'd hoped. She'd spent weeks listing out all the reasons in her head why they would be good together. He was level headed. Responsible. Not a drug addict. He loved Stevie, and he was always, unfailingly there for her. She admired him, cared about him. Surely something had to come out of that, right?

If she was honest with herself, when she'd leaned in to kiss him after he got done fixing her TV, she'd been hoping that he'd be able to wipe the memory of House out of her mind.

God knows nothing else was doing it, and she was tired of it. Tired of sleeping alone at night. Tired of struggling with Stevie by herself. Parenting was hard, damn it. And sex. Oh god, she missed sex. But you couldn't pick up a guy at a bar and bring him home when you had a kid. And you couldn't indiscriminately sleep with your co-workers. The last two times she'd tried that, she'd wound up with a divorce and a baby.

So she'd been hoping, really hoping, that this thing she had going with Wilson was going to go somewhere. But that kiss just blew all those hopes out of the water.

"Ahem." Wilson tapped her gently on the shoulder before turning her around toward the big, open front window. She turned, amused yet grateful that they weren't they weren't going to dwell on her current state of embarrassment…and felt her stomach hit her toes.

Relaxed back on the seat of his bike, eyes shaded by the visor of his helmet, face turned toward the front window where she and Wilson were currently standing, was House. She was torn between a sharp, fleeting anger that he had the audacity to show up after making himself scarce for the first four months of Stevie's life, desperate embarrassment that he'd obviously seen her throwing herself at Wilson, and a desperate, hopeful longing at the possibility that he might be coming back.

And how pathetic was that?

"I ought to call the police," she grumbled, turning away from the window to look back at Wilson. She was very aware that his arms were still around her now, but she forced herself not to care. Wilson had held her like this a thousand times, when she'd been tired, when she'd been angry, when she'd been sure she wasn't going to survive single parenthood after House walked out on her. When she'd needed someone to remind her that jumpsuit orange wasn't her color, and the foster care system sucked, so she didn't REALLY want to kill House.

If House had a problem with it, he could have been there for any of the above. He wasn't. His choice, not hers. Which meant she had nothing to feel guilty about.

"I…don't think I would do that." Wilson sounded amused now, damn him. "I know he hasn't done anything to deserve it, but maybe you should give him a chance."

"I gave him a chance. I had his damn kid, didn't I? I came back here, let him slide back into my life, then watched him walk right back out it. I can't do it again." Her voice was soft now, thick and heavy with misery she didn't even try to hide. She couldn't do it again. She just couldn't. Whatever the hell House wanted, he could turn around and drive off on his bike and forget her address.

Cameron was fairly certain if she opened her heart to House, one more time, and he left her again, there wouldn't be anything left to put back together.

"You did. And if you decide not to give him another one, no one is going to hold it against you. God knows, nobody could blame you. Just…think about it, okay?" Wilson planted one more kiss on the top of her head, squeezing her tight, then stepped back to scoop his coat off the couch.

"Wait, you're leaving?" Cameron knew her voice was frantic now, but she couldn't help it. She'd been at her wit's end when Wilson had walked through the door. Stevie was miserable between shots and teeth, and she'd been screaming all afternoon. She'd completely missed her nap, and both she and mommy were wiped out. Wilson showing up had been a godsend-she'd passed the screaming baby over and taken a quick shower, and by the time she came back out Stevie was asleep in her swing and Wilson was crouched behind the TV, fixing whatever she'd managed to crosswire when she'd installed the new Amazon Fire.

She was pretty sure she was going to lose it if he left her to deal with Stevie AND House on her own.

"I'm going to take a walk. A long walk," he added with a smile and a pointed look outside. "Say, about half an hour. Then I'm going to come back, and we're going to dig into the ice cream you thought you hid in the back of the freezer. Then we can go from there." Reaching out, he tipped her chin up a little so she was looking straight into his eyes. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to," he said softly. "Remember that."

With that he turned and walked out the front door, leaving her staring after him in frustration. It wasn't a matter of what she did and didn't want to do. The problem was what she DID want to do, which was throw herself at House like the last four months didn't happen. Like everything was forgiven and forgotten. Like they could just go on like they always had, and he could do what the hell ever he wanted.

She couldn't do that. She had a kid to worry about now, a kid that deserved a helluva lot better than an on again, off again dad. But oh god she missed him. So what the hell was she supposed to do?

Looked like she needed to figure that out, fast. Wilson stopped to talk to House for a minute, then turned and strolled down her block while House slowly unclipped his helmet, picked what looked like a bouquet of slightly worse for wear roses out of his saddlebag, and hobbled up her walkway.

She didn't wait for him to knock, just went over and opened the door. He paused for a moment when he saw her standing there, then kept walking until they were face to face.

Cameron was tempted to let him stand outside, but it was cold and her heating bill was already ridiculous. So instead she turned around and walked back into the house, leaving him on his own to come in, close the door behind him and follow her into the little dining area.

She flopped down in one of the chairs at the table, surprised to realize he hadn't followed her that far. Looking around, she realized why. He was standing quietly next to Stevie's swing, watching the sleeping child rock back and forth. The longing and regret on his face nearly took the wind out of her sails.

She'd never been able to refuse him anything when he'd been human.

"If you wake her up, I will kill you," she warned softly, making him smile, just a little. Turning, he hobbled in an exaggerated tiptoe over, taking the time to take off his jacket and set the flowers in front of her on the table. His hands were white as ice, and without him having to ask she got up and poured him a cup of coffee.

"Thank you," he said quietly when she sat back down. They sat in silence for a moment, the only sound the gentle whirr of Stevie's motorized swing. In the end, it was Cameron who broke the silence.

"What are you doing here, House?"

He was quiet for a minute, so long she thought he was just going to ignore her. Then he said, "Do you remember when you asked me why I wanted to know why you liked me?"

"Yeeesss," she said slowly, cheeks flushing as she flashed back to that day. God, how did he even remember that? She would often think of that as the moment she realized there was no going back for her. The day House had stood up for his team, then refused to bend under pressure. Had refused to lie about something that mattered to him, even though he knew it was going to cost him.

"You asked what I wanted to hear." He looked up at her with those heartbreaking blue eyes. "I wanted you to tell me that I could be a good person. That I was capable of doing the right thing and helping you all keep your jobs, even if it meant swallowing my pride and giving Vogler what he wanted."

"And you came to me for that?" she asked, incredulous.

"You were the only one I would have believed it from." He sucked in a deep breath, then said, without breaking eye contact, "You were-are-the only one who's ever made me think I could be a better person. Who's ever made me WANT to be a better person. It was true then, and it's true now. I was scared," he hurried on when she opened her mouth to argue. "When I saw you bleeding out on that OR bed, when I saw Stevie all limp and blue in that incubator, I was scared. I was afraid I was going to lose you, and I was afraid it was all going to be my fault.

"I've been having nightmares for months," he said quietly. "Every time I close my eyes, that's all I can see. Only there, Dr. Lee can't stop the bleeding, and the NICU team can't get Stevie stabilized. And it's all my fault, because I didn't realize you weren't well until it was too late. I lose you both, every night, and it's all my fault," he finished on a rush of air, head hanging now, refusing to look at her. "It's a miracle you two are still here, and I figured…well, I figured both of you being alive was so much more than I had the right to ask for."

"House." As he closed his eyes and a single tear trickled down the side of her face-the first time she'd seen House cry, ever-Cameron felt the ice around her heart shatter. She saw, for the first time, the damage the guilt of the past four months had done to him. He was thin to the point of insanity, the dark circles underneath his eyes testifying to months of sleepless nights. Before she could talk herself out of it she walked around the table and wrapped her arms around his neck, squeaking in surprise when he pulled her down onto his lap. He buried his face in her neck and wrapped his arms around her, holding her so close she could barely breathe.

"I'm sorry, Cameron. I'm so fucking sorry," he muttered.

With a sigh, she laid her cheek against his hair and thought about what to do next. She could send him away, contact her lawyer to set up child support and visitation and wash her hands of him and his issues once and for all. It was what a sane person could do.

But then, House had always made her a little bit crazy. She'd been in love with the jerk for years, and right now she had all the power. Maybe it wasn't too far fetched to take a leap of faith. It was, after all, kind of her thing.

"I love you," she whispered, feeling him tense and go still. Heart pounding, she leaned back to see his face. "I love you," she said again, pressing a palm gently against his cheek. "I can forgive you for being an idiot, because I know what it's like to be scared and I know you'd rather cut off your arm than talk about your feelings. I can forgive you because I know you've been working yourself to death since Stevie was born, and now I know it's not because you regretted having her."

House opened his mouth, but she firmly planted a hand over it. "Nuh uh. My turn." She grinned as a flash of amusement sparked in his eyes. "I thought you were sorry she happened, and that's why you walked out on us," she said, all amusement fading away. "I told myself I wasn't going to forgive you for that, but it seems I really don't have a choice. But I do have a condition, House." It was all or nothing now, and Cameron braced herself for it. "If you stay, it has to be because you love us, and you want to be here. Not out of some mixed up idea of duty or doing the right thing. If you can't do that, if you can't commit to that, then I need you to leave. Right now."

She held her breath, searching his face, and she nearly melted when he wrapped his hands around the back of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. It was soft and sweet, and when he broke away and whispered, "I love you," she nearly missed it under the pounding of her heart in her ears.

"Say it again," she demanded, smiling when he laughed.

"I love you, Cameron. I've loved you since the first time you got all snotty in my office, but I was dead set on not screwing up the rest of your life." He was serious now. "I meant everything I said on that date. I'm too old for you, I'm not a nice person, and I'm damaged. I'm the worst possible choice you could make."

"Are you trying to talk me out of this?" Cameron knew she was beaming like an idiot, but she didn't care. She'd waited years for this moment, most of her adult life, in fact. She was allowed a little idiocy. "You might be a crappy choice, but you're my choice." Pulling back again, she looked at him seriously. "No more silent treatment. No more running. When you're scared, you stay, and we get through it together. That's the only way I can do this, House."

"Okay," he told her, without a second's hesitation.

"That's it? Okay?"

"Well, the way I figure it, you're a LITTLE less screwed up than I am." She couldn't a quick snort of laughter at that. Grinning, he continued, "And god knows you're better at this relationship stuff than I am. So…"

"So that makes me the boss?"

"Something like that." House pulled her in for another kiss, and Cameron went eagerly, soaking up everything she'd missed the last few months. Leaps of faith were big and scary, but sometimes they paid off. Maybe she was crazy, but when House shifted to take her weight off his bad leg but pulled her closer when she would have walked away, she thought this just might be one of those times.

 **A/N: Almost there** **I have an epilogue up my sleeve, since I'm a big fan of wondering what happens after happily ever after, but I'd love to hear what you guys think is going to happen next! And as always, thank you for reading.**


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